Hotel Escape
by Dreamuero
Summary: Annabeth is working at the Hotel Escape for the summer with Piper. Percy is a young actor who is staying at the hotel to film a movie on the beach. One drunken night will make them realize what their lives have been missing, each other. Percabeth! Rated M for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

a/n: I do not own any of the wonderful character thought up by Rick Riordan. It's my first fanfiction and I would love not to get sued.

Anyway, hope you enjoy!

* * *

Annabeth tugged on her, highly unflattering, khaki knee length shorts and quickly whipped her curly blonde hair into a ponytail. She checked her phone again, 9:45 am. She sighed, relieved she still had 5 minutes. She went to her 'kitchen' (it was really just a sink, a bowl of fruit, and a fridge) and grabbed a banana. She was seconds from walking out the door when she caught a good look at herself in the mirror.

Annabeth made an unintelligible noise of panic, similar to something a cow might make, and ran back to the bathroom. She stuffed the rest of the banana into her mouth and haphazardly dropped her black iPhone down onto the counter with a loud thud. She preceded to hastily wet a towel and rub her eyes, attempting to clean the black stains that lined her eyes.

After pulling out a dozen or so eyelashes, the makeup was off and Annabeth shook her head. She needed to remember Piper's cardinal rule of make up: always wash your face before going to bed. But what if Annabeth couldn't help it? She had almost collapsed in the kitchen, barely reaching her bed, when she came home from running the snacks cart on the scorching golf court all day. She had returned to the room utterly exhausted and crashed.

Annabeth picked her phone up off the counter and ran back into their tiny kitchen. She grabbed the bag she'd left on top of the refrigerator the night before, slipped on her white sandals and ran out the door. She kept a casual pace during her walk to the towel shack and was a little irked that her calculations had somehow had her arrive a minute or two late to her destination.

She checked her phone one last time, 10:02, before, after glancing around to make sure her task supervisor was no where in sight, jumped over the counter and scrambled around looking for her name tag. She finally found it.

Annabeth Chase

Jr. Employee

Annabeth straightened up quickly, hitting her head hard on a shelf. She rubbed her head for a second then tried not to prick herself as she briskly attached her name tag to her pink and yellow Hawaiian shirt. Once it was securely attached she texted Piper.

 _Where are you?!_

She was about to send the message when she was interrupted by her supervisor, Ariel Lee.

"Good morning. I'm glad you're here on time today," the skinny Asian woman towering over her greeted in a nasally voice Annabeth would never get used to hearing. Ariel directed her puckered bright red lips at Annabeth, expecting a response.

"Morning." Annabeth smile brightly but the expression didn't reach her eyes. "Where is Piper?"

"She had to run to the ladies room but she'll be back soon." Ariel reached into one of the many folders she was holding in the crook of her left arm and pulled out two sheets of paper. "Here is your schedule for the next two weeks," she informed, handing the first page to Annabeth. "And _this_ ," she motioned to the second sheet and laid it on the table facing down, "is Piper's schedule for the next two weeks. it's private. So that means...?" She leaned forward and peered into Annabeth's gray eyes, waiting for her finish the sentence.

"That I shouldn't look at it." Annabeth guessed, trying to hide a slight smile at the redundancy. She was asked to finish the statement almost every week and almost every week neither she, nor Piper, followed the rule.

"No," her supervisor rolled her eyes, "that you _won't_."

"Of course." Annabeth offered an apologetic grin.

"Don't clock out early," Ariel instructed as she slid the papers towards Annabeth. She checked the immaculate watch wrapped around her left wrist and briefly looked back up at Annabeth. "Have a nice day."

Annabeth gave her a labored smile as Ariel spun around swiftly and walked away. Annabeth kept smiling until she could no longer see her short black hair or hear her heels clicking on the cement. When all trace of Ariel had finally disappeared Annabeth relaxed her face, frowning slightly at the soreness in her cheeks.

She tipped her head back and examined the dozens of turquoise towels that surrounded her. She took a deep breath and leaned back, letting herself be consumed by the forest of sea green. With the schedules still held tight to her chest, Annabeth closed her eyes and left the cool summer breeze wash across her features, eddying away some of the lines stress ingrained into her face.

Annabeth, even from inside the towel shack, swore she could smell the ocean and feel it's humidity. It felt closer than usual. Her eyes fluttered open, allowing her analytical gray eyes to watch over slow moving clouds in the sky. She blinked slowly and tried to imagine she were there right now, wading through the refreshing water.

"Hey weirdo." Piper's voice broke Annabeth out of her trance.

"Hey." Annabeth shifted her gaze down to face the pretty brunette.

"I think you're scaring people, you kinda look dead." Piper leaned over the white counter. Annabeth eyes scanned her friend's appearance noted how much lighter her brown hair was.

 _Probably from the sun_ , she theorized.

Annabeth chuckled lightly at the jest and handed over Piper's schedule. "Your updated schedule." She took Piper's silence to look down at her own schedule, surprised she'd held it for so long.

* * *

Annabeth Chase - Jr. Employee #0041539

6/6 Sunday: 10:00am-1:30am Towel Shack (East pool) 3:00pm-8:00pm Jake's Seafood Grill

7/6 Monday: 7:00am-12:00am Emporium 1:30pm-7:00pm Lux Lounge

8/6 Tuesday: 9:00am-1:30am Emporium 3:00pm-8:00pm Jake's Seafood Grill

9/6 Wednesday: 7:00am-12:00am Emporium 1:30pm-7:00pm Lux Lounge

10/6 Thursday: Free day

11/6 Friday: 7:00am-7:00am-12:00am Emporium 1:30pm-7:00pm Lux Lounge

12/6 Saturday: 9:00am-1:30am Emporium 3:00pm-8:00pm Jake's Seafood Grill

13/6 Sunday: 7:00am-12:00am Emporium 1:30pm-7:00pm Lux Lounge

14/6 Monday: 9:00am-1:30am Emporium 3:00pm-8:00pm Jake's Seafood Grill

15/6 Tuesday: 7:00am-12:00am Emporium 1:30pm-7:00pm Lux Lounge

16/6 Wednesday: 9:00am-1:30am Emporium 3:00pm-8:00pm Jake's Seafood Grill

17/6 Thursday: Free day

18/6 Friday: 9:00am-1:30am Emporium 3:00pm-8:00pm Jake's Seafood Grill

19/6 Saturday:7:00am-12:00am Emporium 1:30pm-7:00pm Lux Lounge

20/6 Sunday: 9:00am-1:30am Emporium 3:00pm-8:00pm Jake's Seafood Grill

* * *

"When's your free day?" Annabeth asked Piper while reading over what activities her life would consist of for the next two weeks.

"Thursday. Yours?" Piper questioned, the furrow of her brow showing her displeasure with her given tasks.

"Me too!," Annabeth exclaimed excitedly. It was the first time they'd had their off day together since they'd started the summer job.

"Really?" Piper picked up her head, her kaleidoscope eyes shining. "Wait, let me see your schedule." Annabeth handed Piper her schedule and picked up Piper's.

"Ooh, you got showers." Annabeth looked over at Piper who caught her apologetic gaze and nodded. "I'm so sorry." Annabeth tried not to laugh but she couldn't help it when imagining Piper cleaning dirty pool showers.

"I have emporium from 7:00 to 12:00. So that overlaps but other than that," Piper checked Annabeth's schedule again, just to be sure, "nothing." The brunette gave her friend an exaggerated pout. "We don't have any other jobs together."

"Cheer up!" Annabeth was beginning to feel guilty for talking Piper into this 2-month job, especially when she was miraculously getting the okay jobs and her roommate was stuck with the abysmal ones. "At least we have Thursday to spend time together."

"Yeah," Piper smiled showing her pearly white teeth. "Anyway, are you excited?!" Her eyes widened as if, she also, were remembering the source of her amusement.

"Excuse me!" Piped a little voice from next to Piper. They looked over and saw an 11-year-old girl in a pink one piece.

"Yes, can we help you?" Piper inquired charmingly.

"Can I get a towel, please?" The little girl pointed to the shelves behind Annabeth.

"Sure. Can I get your room number?" Annabeth replied reaching under the counter for the clipboard.

"Uh.." The little girl looked down at her feet then back up at Annabeth, "I don't remember."

"I'm sorry, I can't give you a towel then," Annabeth replied as nicely as she could.

"Oh." The little girl looked disappointed. She shuffled her feet and glanced at Piper. Annabeth sat back, waiting for the awkward silence to end, not noting the way her friend nervously chewed on her bottom lip.

"You can still have one. It'll be our little secret." Piper reached behind Annabeth and pulled a towel off the shelf. "Just make sure you bring it back afterwards, okay?" She handed the towel to the little girl.

"Okay!" The little girl said and ran off, blonde pigtails swinging wildly behind her.

"No running-" Annabeth started but Piper cut her off.

"Would you calm down? It's fine." Piper looked at Annabeth's face and cringed realizing she had begun an argument.

"Piper, you shouldn't have done that. Now I'm gonna get in trouble if she doesn't bring the towel back." Annabeth scolded her.

"Gods, have a little faith in people. She'll bring it back. She knows it's the right thing to do" Piper exhaled in a manner that indicated exasperation.

"Piper! She's in like fifth grade. What does she know about morality? About right and wrong?" Annabeth retorted.

"It doesn't matter anymore, okay? There's no argument to win here," Piper stated picking her schedule up off the counter again.

"Yeah, because I'd win." Annabeth muttered.

"You can't win if you don't honor other people when they beat you." Piper reprimanded, folding her schedule and putting it in the back pocket of her khakis. They were identical to Annabeth's but Piper had spilled wine on them a week early and it had left a faint red stain on the left leg. "I'm gonna go back to the room to shower. I'll call my Dad so he doesn't go crazy and then maybe take a nap. I'll meet you back here around 1:30 so we can go to lunch."

"Okay, but don't be late because we only have an hour to eat if we want to make it to Jake's on time." Annabeth reminded her and Piper leaned over the counter grabbing the blue bag she'd brought with her. She waved goodbye and starting walking in the direction of their room.

Annabeth took in her surroundings for a second time, this time however looking for the stool. She finally found it under a bundle of disorganized towels that Piper had no doubt knocked down during the previous shift. She pulled it up the counter and sat down. Annabeth checked the time on her phone. 10:23am. She put her phone back in her pocket and sighed. It would be a long morning.

* * *

~edited 3/21/17~


	2. Chapter 2

AN: I do not own any of the wonderful character thought up by Rick Riordan. It's my first fanfiction and I would love not to get sued.

Anyways, hope you enjoy!

* * *

Annabeth took in her surroundings again, this time however, searching for the wooden stool that was always hidden in the messy shack. She finally found it under a bundle of disorganized towels that Piper had no doubt knocked down during the previous shift. She pulled it up to the counter and sat down, swinging her legs over the side. Annabeth checked the time on her phone. 10:23 am. She groaned and slipped her phone back in her pocket.

It would be a long morning.

Annabeth routinely attended to hotel guests who were, apparently, in desperate need for towels if the way they treated her was any indication. When her hands weren't at work though, Annabeth folded them neatly on the counter and rested her chin on her bumpy knuckles. As she did, she gazed out into the artificially created landscape, wishing to be anywhere else.

It was barely noon when her eyes inevitably drifted towards towards the turquoise pool water, slyly eyeing the surrounding area for her ex boyfriend. Her gray eyes narrowed when she spotted him. He appeared to be flirting, _very_ obviously despite hotel policy, with an only slightly gorgeous leggy brunette. Annabeth watched the girl - _definitely_ a _guest_ , she thought - throw her head back with what, she could only imagine, was a typical southern California giggly laugh and knew she was flirting back. He flashed a charming smile and then raised his eyes.

His eyes caught Annabeth's across the resort and his smile vanished. The blonde immediately looked away. She pretended to be busy writing something down even though she had no pen in her hand nor anywhere to write. She waited a few seconds and then peeked again, he wasn't looking at her anymore. She quickly averted her eyes; she shouldn't be looking at him, just the sight of him made her nauseous.

She plastered a smile on her face as a group of teenage girls approached the towel shack. They were talking excitedly. The tallest one stepped forward and requested six towels. One for each of them. She gave Annabeth her room number and then turned back to gossip with her friends. Annabeth took out six neatly stacked towels and handed them to her. The group was about to walk away when the palest of them got Annabeth's attention.

"Do you know if the rumors are true?"

"What rumors?" Annabeth asked puzzled.

"That Percy Jackson is staying at this hotel?!" The girl answered impatiently. _Oh, that's what Piper was talking about_ , Annabeth thought. Piper had been going on and on about some 'super hot' movie star that was coming to their hotel for the last two weeks.

"I'm sorry I don't know," Annabeth replied, smiling politely

"Are you sure?" The girl leaned forward against the counter attempting to read her.

"I don't know," Annabeth repeated, becoming quickly annoyed.

"But like... are you sure?" Annabeth groaned internally.

"Well I can tell you that someone famous is coming, I just can't say who." Annabeth replied and winked. The group of girls broke into a fit of squeals and giggles. Annabeth sighed in relief as they walked towards the pool. She looked back at where she'd seen Luke earlier. He wasn't there anymore. She squinted, trying to spot him and was alarmed when she heard his voice.

"Hey," Annabeth jumped up and turned to see Luke a few inches across the counter. "You looking for someone?" He said raising his eyebrows at her, smugly.

"No." Annabeth stated plainly, "Why are you here?" She crossed her arms across her chest, like she always did.

"Well I was just wondering when you're gonna get over this thing," He leaned in, refusing to break eye contact. "Look, I'm really sorry. It only happened once and it won't happen again." Luke smiled trying to crack the straight line that was Annabeth's lips. "Honestly, never again." Luke finally broke eye contact and started rambling as he always did when he felt awkward. "It was only one time and it didn't mean anything. It wasn't even really my faul-"

"Stop!" Annabeth cut him off.

 _What?_ , Luke mouthed.

Annabeth didn't wait to answer his question, "Are you fucking kidding me?" Annabeth stood up from the stool and leaned forward until her face was inches away from Luke's. " I mean you have to be right!? Oh was it an accident then? Oops, I slipped and fell right onto a penis!" she imitated in a ditsy voice.

"No, not-"

"What did she slip on? Your boxer? because you're pants had to already be off for that story be even _remotely_ plausible."

"Annabeth, don't-"

"And did you _accidentally_ tell all your friends? _A_ _ccidentally_ humiliate me? _A_ _ccidentally_ fuck me over." Annabeth smiled sourly. "I'm so sorry, Luke. I had no idea you were so misunderstood. That sounds like an enormous miscommunication. It's not _your_ fault _whatsoever._ I mean, you can't help it if you fuck someone else right?"

"Annabeth that's not what I meant!" He said frantically trying to explain himself.

"Luke, could you just please fuck off, because every time I see your face I just wanna - " Annabeth made a crude gesture with her hands and subsequently turned around, hoping Luke would get the message. She pretended to organize the towels for a minute or so before she felt Luke's shadow disappear. The newly present sunlight burned against the exposed part of her neck and wished, once again, that she was at the beach.

She sat back down on her stool and continued to stare at the pool, watching the kids create humongous splashes that consequently irritating the snooty the hotel guests in the most amusing way possible.

* * *

By the time 1:30 finally rolled around Annabeth was minutes from falling asleep at her mind numbly boring job. Julia, another jr employee, replaced Annabeth and the blonde walked the short distance back to her room, eager to shower before working at Jake's in an hour and a half. Annabeth swiped her key card and swung her door open. Piper was asleep in the bottom bunk. Annabeth kicked off her sandals and set her bag down lightly, not wanting to wake her. She quietly walked into their small white bathroom and began to strip herself of her tacky tourist clothing. She turned on the shower and waited until it was mildly scalding and got in.

She slowly washed her hair, thinking about her encounter with Luke. She still couldn't believe what he'd done. She'd fallen for he him because he was so sweet, because she'd known him for so long. Annabeth faced the shower as she remembered that horrible Sunday afternoon.

She'd gone over to Luke's house to surprise him since she was back early from her trip to Hawaii. His parents weren't home, but that wasn't a problem because his back door was always unlocked. She walked upstairs and then heard it.

The horrible noises.

Every time she recalled the memory the moans that echoed around her head only grew worse. Her heart dropped as she slowly walked upstairs. She slowly opened the door to his room and, though she could only see their silhouettes, she didn't need to see anything more to know what was going on. It wasn't much but it was enough to make her drop her bag onto the floor, making a loud thud in the process.

Luke's head snapped to look at her and his eyes widened. Annabeth ran out of his room into the hallway, tears streaming down her face. She was shaking, trembling. She didn't know what to do. She stumbled downstairs into his living room feeling dizzy, disoriented and light headed. Suddenly, she hit a wall. The throbbing of her forehead was overpowered by her inability to breath, the way her heart was crumbling into her. She slumped down onto the floor.

Luke came down the stairs completely naked. He kept trying to talk to her, but she kept interrupting him. She tried to leave the house but he gripped her wrists tightly against his chest and wouldn't let her move.

"Annabeth! It's not what it looks like, this has, I don't, I love you-"

Annabeth remembered it so clearly. As the words came out his mouth, her breakfast came out hers. He reacted by jumping back and letting go of her. She took advantage of the opportunity and sprinted out the house, leaving the front door wide open behind her. She heard Luke yell after her but she didn't stop running. She reached her house a minute later but kept on running past it. She kept on running until she didn't know where she was anymore.

Annabeth ran her fingers through her hair and washed out the shampoo. She reached for the conditioner and tried to not think about how hard the past few weeks had been. They'd made plans for the summer before they'd broken up. They had already accepted the job offer at Hotel Escape. And neither of them seemed to want to give in, so they were both here.

* * *

~ Edited 5/18/17 ~


	3. Chapter 3

a/n: I do not own any of the wonderful characters thought up by Rick Riordan. It's my first fanfiction and I would love not to get sued.

Sorry, this took so long, but there's much more coming, I promise. Anyways, hope you enjoy!

* * *

Annabeth stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around herself, her toes curling slightly as they touched the cool tile below. She shifted forward to the bathroom counter and wiped the mirror with her hand in order to clear the fog. The blonde barely glanced at her appearance before she heard the door swing open and saw Piper follow, allowing a cold gust of air to sweep through the room, sending shivers down her spine.

"How can you produce this much steam?" Piper questioned, an irritating lilt to her tone. "Are you boiling or something?" She ran her fingers along the counter, attempting to find her make up bag.

Annabeth's gray eyes flicked to her friend and she chose not to respond to the harmless comment as Piper looked as if she'd just woken up from a long nap. "Here it is," the blonde told her friend, reaching forward and handing her roommate the translucent blue bag.

"Where was it?" Piper asked, taking the bag with a grateful smile.

"Right there," Annabeth pointed. "Two inches away from you." Piper frowned and rubbed her eyes, trying to fully wake up. "Is your dress for Jake's clean yet?" Annabeth inquired, reaching for her toothbrush to do what she hadn't had time to for this morning. She heard a small gasp escape her friend and flashed her gaze her way. "No?" Annabeth guessed, not sure whether or not to laugh or worry.

"Shit!" Piper ran out of the bathroom. Annabeth loaded her toothbrush with toothpaste and followed. Piper ruffling through her clothes. She pulled out her navy blue bodycon dress. It had a red wine stain smack dab in the middle. She rushed it to the kitchen sink and began running it under hot water, hoping to reverse the unreversible.

"Itsh honesh-ly not that notish-eable," Annabeth struggled to speak clearly with a wad of toothpaste in her mouth. She took her toothbrush out of her mouth and walked back into the bathroom to spit. "I told you," the blonde scolded loud enough that Piper was able to hear her through the flimsy walls. "You needed to soak it the minute you got home."

"I get it, you're always right," Piper dismissed with a wave of her hand, "but I can't go back in time. I need a solution _now._ If you have nothing constructive to add, say nothing all."

"O-kay." Annabeth frowned marginally, crinkling her brows and she walked out of the bathroom to address her friend. The blonde approached the kitchen, stopping at the tiny counter and resting her elbows on the ceramic. "Are you okay? You seem stressed."

"I'm fine," Piper snapped.

"Piper," Annabeth countered with a pointed look.

The brunette sighed but complied, explaining her distress. "I simply would prefer not to be yelled at again." She continued to frantically scrub the stain with a wet towel.

Annabeth nodded, biting her bottom lip as she considered how to assist her friend. "I think you might be making it worse," she informed delicately, not wanting to further dampen her friend's unusually low spirits. "You're probably better off tieing an apron over it for now and asking for a new uniform at the end of the night."

"I'm at the bar tonight" Piper breathed, throwing the dress back into the sink and running her fingers through her unevenly cut hair. Annabeth stood up and walked around the small kitchenette to stand beside her.

"It'll be fine," she tried to comfort her friend, never having been especially good at it. "I'm waitressing tonight. We can just switch shifts." Piper turned to face Annabeth.

"Really?" Hope filled Piper's blue eyes and her expression visibly brightened. Annabeth nodded as she caught a glimpse of the constantly optimistic Piper she knew and loved. "Ahh, thank you!" the brunette squealed.

"Just..." Annabeth considered the ramification if they were caught. It really wouldn't be _that_ bad, but to Annabeth, the consequences appeared exponentially worse. "make sure you're perfectly nice to everyone" Piper nodded vigorously, a small smirk gracing her delicately drawn lips. "I'm serious, Piper, if anyone complains I'll kill you."

"I promise I will be the nicest, kindest, most charming human being ever imaginable." Piper laid her right hand over her heart and let the other face Annabeth as if she were taking an oath.

"Hey, I'm not joking!" Annabeth said fighting a smile.

"Of course, I'll be nice," Piper assured the blonde turning back towards her dress and turning off the faucet. "Now I just have to find a way to dry this." Her ever-changing eyes darted around the room as she searched for a solution. They lingered a bit too long on the oven for Annabeth's liking.

"You could use the hair dryer," Annabeth suggested and sauntered to her closet in order to locate her own her clothes to find her own dress.

"You weren't planning on using it?" Piper questioned innocently though there was an incredulous undertone to her words.

"No, I didn't plan on it," Annabeth replied with a shrugged. She found her navy dress and set it flat on the bed so it wouldn't wrinkle.

"Have you not worked at the bar before?" Piper asked, a small frown curving her lips downwards.

"No," Annabeth shook her head and began to pick out her underwear as she was still in her white towel. "Why? Is there a strict hair code I should know about?" the blonde joked.

"Of sorts," Piper chuckled, heading into the bathroom to use the dryer.

Annabeth spun around, no longer laughing. "What do you mean?"

"Trust me, you don't want to show up with wet hair."

"Okay, I guess I'll dry it then" Annabeth narrowed her eyes at Piper suspiciously, entering the bathroom and taking the small hair dryer from the brunette's hands.

"I'd consider makeup too," Piper suggested, keeping her comment light as Annabeth turned to face her clothes again.

"What are you talking about, I always wear makeup." Annabeth furrowed her brow.

"Yes, unfortunately, however, the bar generally requires more than mascara." Annabeth sighed, flipping on the dryer.

"Is there anything else I need to know?" she asked over the loud blow of the machine.

"Maybe some pepper spray," Piper advised quickly and quietly.

Annabeth wasted no time in turning off the dryer and whipping around, slapping her friend in the face with a mop of her wet curls. "What?" She smiled warily at Piper, hoping she'd heard wrong.

"Pepper spray." She shrugged casually. "You never know when it might come in handy. I've had to use it _at least_ a dozen times. I have some in my purse if you want it." Piper lied, watching Annabeth, amused as her eyes widened and filled with a cold edge.

Annabeth was silent for a moment and then began speaking in a whisper."Piper, I'm sorry I don't think - "

"Don't worry," Piper laughed, taking the hair dryer from her friend. "I'm just joking!" She pointed the dryer towards the dress and began to blow away.

"Thank Gods," Annabeth sighed in relief.

"Yep," Piper smiled and smacked her lips, beginning to feel guilty about letting Annabeth take her spot at the bar.

* * *

~ edited 6/12/17 ~


	4. Chapter 4

a/n: I do not own any of the wonderful characters thought up by Rick Riordan. It's my first fanfiction and I would love not to get sued.

* * *

It was 2:45 by the time they left their room.

"C'mon!" Annabeth yelled. She cast an exasperated glare at Piper who was on the phone.

"Sorry," her roommate whispered and held up a finger. "It's Jason."

Annabeth rolled her eyes and shook her head lightly. With a sigh, she began to walk away. Piper and Jason spoke every single day. They were essentially the same person. When they fought, it was only small spats, never anything consequential. Somehow they got along perfectly. Annabeth wasn't sure how any two people could be so in sync.

"Hey, slow down!" Annabeth heard her friend's voice behind her. She couldn't help but smile at the sound, even though she was annoyed with her. "I'm in heels," Piper managed between heavy breaths.

"So am I," Annabeth reminded her with a begrudging smile. "But I'm walking fast despite that because I don't want to be late." She watched as Piper fixed her dress. "What's up with him anyway? It sounded like you two were fighting."

"Oh," Piper paused, blinking slowly. Her hands stilled their movements. "Really nothing."

Annabeth raised an eyebrow, casting a dubious look at her friend. Piper wasn't usually private about her and Jason's relationship, especially not when they were fighting. Her friend was a strong believer that keeping your emotions on the inside would only result in an outburst of negative sentiments.

"I don't mind listening," Annabeth remarked softly, wondering if her friend thought her disinterested. "You can tell me anything."

"It's honestly nothing," Piper sighed with a shrug. Silence followed her statement, but she glanced at Annabeth's troubled expression and decided to expound. "Fine," she allowed. "He and his friends are going to this piñata party, and he's refusing to tell me anything about it."

Annabeth nodded, pursing her lips as she tried to wrap her mind around the issue. "So..." she began awkwardly, "is piñata code for something or—"

"Look," Piper interrupted. "It doesn't really matter." She smiled and patted her friend on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it. We should get going or we're going to be late. You probably don't want to draw attention to yourself if you're technically breaking the rules."

* * *

A minute or two later, the two employees arrived at the lobby of the hotel. After sharing a few words of good luck, they parted ways.

Annabeth walked down the decadent hallway, glancing momentarily at the restaurants and amenities lining the area. When she finally reached the _Sand Bar_ , she stopped and scanned her surroundings.

There were nearly a dozen employees littering the kitchen's entrance. The majority of them were women and were wearing much more makeup than she had anticipated. She wondered if she was underdressed. Piper _had_ advised her to dress up, but she had chosen to disregard the tip.

Annabeth bit her lip anxiously but strode forward despite her nerves, approaching one of the women standing opposite to her. She tapped her on the shoulder politely. The girl spun around with a bright smile, the movement swishing her bleach blonde hair.

"Hi, sorry," Annabeth greeted at her questioning look. "My name is A— _Piper_ ," she amended, remembering that she was playing a part tonight. "And and I'm new here—"

"Heyy," the girl greeted with an enthusiasm Annabeth had not been prepared for. She noted the girl had a slight Southern accent. "I'm Gloria. It's really nice to meet you!"

"You too," she responded. "Do you know where I should check in with the supervisor?"

The dirty blonde, Gloria, giggled. Annabeth wasn't sure why but kept a smile on her face anyway, not wanting to appear rude.

"I've worked here for almost two weeks, so I can take you to him if you'd like?" Gloria offered, fixing her hair with a spare hand.

"That would be great," Annabeth grinned. "Thanks."

"It's no problem," Gloria assured her with the same sweet curve of her lips that was seemingly imprinted into her expression. "Let me warn you though," she laughed and began to lead Annabeth through the small mass of people and several customers. "He's awfully cute."

Gloria whipped Annabeth into the kitchen and around the different equipment, leaving her slightly disoriented and wondering why a _bar_ required a full culinary facility. As the pair came to a stop, the blonde forced her eyes away from the pristine steel tools and soon found herself staring directly at the blonde boy who had broken her heart just a few months ago.

Her heart dropped the second she saw him. She felt her blood grow hot in her own veins and felt her throat become scratchy and dry. Her tongue suddenly felt like it was uncomfortably large in her mouth. She felt like she was having an allergic reaction. She probably was—to him anyway.

Luke's eyes widened at the sight of her. His icy blue eyes darted between her companion and her. She watched as he swallowed harshly and wondered if her presence had always put him so on edge.

"Hey," he greeted, stepping forward. "What are you doing here?" he asked, his eyes still flickering between the two women.

"This is Piper," Gloria introduced with a wide smile. "She's new."

"Uh," Luke blinked several times, trying to make sense of the situation. "I—I can take it from her, Gloria. Thanks," he said finally, flashing the girl a charming smile before turning back to his ex-girlfriend.

"Take good care of her," Gloria remarked with a wink before returning to her station.

"What are you doing here?" Luke repeated, staring at Annabeth with a furrowed brow. She wondered if the question was meant for her the first time too. "Why does that girl think your name is Piper?"

"I'm filling in for Piper," Annabeth explained quickly, taking a step back from him when he tried to reach for her. She wasn't sure if it was supposed to be a friendly gesture or a romantic one—lucky for her, she didn't care.

"You don't have approval," Luke huffed, rolling his eyes at her actions.

"I'm approved," Annabeth lied, hoping he might just take her word for it.

"Fine," Luke sighed. He reached behind and picked up a clipboard. He quickly flipped through it before finding something with his finger. He grimaced and looked up at Annabeth. "You're not approved," he stated decidedly. "If you were, there would be a note next to Piper's name."

"I must have been approved before you printed that list," Annabeth tried to argue. "It was only—"

"Annabeth," Luke cut her off, looking extremely bored. "I'm not stupid. You can't fool me into thinking you're right when you clearly aren't."

"Okay," Annabeth replied, staring down at her shiny black pumps. "So I'm filling in for Piper. So what? You and I both know I can work just as hard as her."

"Annabeth," Luke said again, a small smirk flittering across his lips. She wished he would stop saying her name like that—the way he used to. It made her think of happier times, memories that were now coating in a dark sheen. "We both know that I'm willing to overlook the small infraction."

"Mh," the blonde acknowledged, refusing to meet his eyes.

"That is, of course, if you tell me the _real_ reason you came here."

"What are you talking about?" Annabeth questioned, a bemused expression gracing her features.

"I mean," Luke smiled again charismatically. The sight was extremely unsettling. "Did you come down here because you wanted to see me?"

"What—"

"—We both know that Piper told you I was the supervisor. You obviously wanted to apologize for acting so rudely before—"

"No—"

"—Well, you'll be happy to hear that I forgive you, completely and honestly—"

"Luke, stop!" Annabeth shouted. It finally shut him up—well, for a few seconds at least. "I came as a favor to Piper who, despite your belief, didn't tell me _you_ would be my supervisor." She breathed, watching his expression crumble. "Besides, I have nothing to apologize for. What I said to you this morning, was totally within my rights. You fucking _cheated_ on me, Luke. If you think you—"

"You were acting like a right bitch this morning," Luke hissed. "And I was ready to forgive you for all—"

"I don't need your forgiveness!" Annabeth snapped back, feeling her temper rise. "In fact, I don't want your flimsy apology."

"You're so lucky I'm not calling Ariel right now," he breathed harshly, glaring at her the way he used to whenever they'd fight. They always fought.

Annabeth remained silent, unsure how to reply. She certainly didn't want to infuriate him to a point where he might call the head of junior employees. Then she would be completely and royally screwed.

"Piper normally works out front," he said finally, turning his gaze to the clipboard he was still holding. "But that can be a hard job for a newcomer. I'll just make a few changes and put you in the back with me."

"No," Annabeth exclaimed suddenly. Then she smiled, trying to hide her horror at the prospect of spending the entire night with him. "I would hate to be an inconvenience, much less receive special treatment." She chuckled awkwardly.

"Fine," Luke sighed angrily for perhaps the dozenth time this evening. He looked her up and down, his stare lingering uncomfortably long on her legs. "You look good," he remarked lightly, though his eyes light up with a hunger she had long abandoned.

"Thanks," Annabeth chuckled awkwardly, hating the feeling of dread and discomfort that clawed at her heart. "So should I ask Gloria for instructions?" the blonde asked, trying to push past the moment.

"No!" Luke cut in, an abnormally worried look skimming his features before smoothening. "She wouldn't know, she—uh—works back here, with—uh—me. Anyway," he shook his head. "Why don't you ask one of the other girls?"

"That's really specific," Annabeth noted sarcastically. She didn't wait for Luke's reply before turning on her heel and striding out of the kitchen. "Excuse me," she polietly interrupted the conversation of a group of girls standing directly in front of the door.

They all turned towards her, breaking their small circle to let her in. "Hi," one of them greeted. They seemed friendly enough.

"Hey," Annabeth smiled. "It's my first day, and I'm working in the front. Could any of you explain my responibilties?"

"Sure," one of the girl grinned, glancing back at her friends to say something. Annabeth wasn't sure what she uttered as she was too far away. "My name is Katie," she revealed when she turned back around.

"Piper," Annabeth responded and felt the girl's hand on her back, leading her towards the bar.

"You're basically just a waitress," Katie explained. "You and one or two other girls will be given a section to wait on. You will have to fight for tables within the group. Once you've taken a table's order, it's yours."

"Okay," Annabeth nodded. That sounded easy enough.

"The only issue is that the girls here can be very aggressive," Katie warned. "The patrons give good tips and we're all desperate to make the most of it. The only problem you will encounter tonight are the drunks."

"Oh," Annabeth smiled hesitantly, wondering if she was serious.

"I find that rich drunk people are incredibly annoying," Katie expounded. "Most people do actually. They think they are entitled to everything and are not kind with their words when their inhibitions have been washed away by 15 dollar drinks." She pulled Annabeth into an empty seat at the bar and pointed to the bartender. "Nico can help you with anymore questions you might have," she finished.

"I'm sure I can handle that," Annabeth said to assure more herself than Katie.

"You'd be surprised," Katie chuckled with a wiggle of her brows. "You very pretty though, so I'm sure you'll do just fine."

"Thanks," the blonde smiled. "But why does that matter."

"Oh, well," she looked around, as if looking for someone. "The hotel won't admit to anything, but we all know they have a system. The better looking the waitress, the more important clients she serves."

Annabeth frowned, looking at the girl in confusion.

"Basically," Katie rephrased. "If waitress looks a bit sloppy then she will be forced to take care of the rowdier guests. A girl who looks put together such as yourself will serve the clean and _not_ crazy-drunk population."

Annabeth expression visibly worsened. Katie laughed.

"Don't worry," she patted the blonde on the back. "I'm sure you'll be fine."

"Thanks for the advise," Annabeth bid her, smiling weakly.

"No problem," Katie laughed again, clearly amused by the worried stare of the blonde.

Annabeth looked around and spotted the bartender. She flagged him down. He walked over slowly, putting down the glasses in his hands.

"I don't recognize you. Are you new?" He asked, holding out his hand to shake hers.

Annabeth smiled attempting to be as charming as possible.

"Yes, hi, I'm filling in for Piper. My name is Annabeth. You must be Nico." She shook his hand.

"That would be me. Nice to meet you Annabeth. So what has Piper told you about this job?" His dark almost-black eyes narrowed playfully.

"Not much," I replied. "Katie told me it's basically waitressing."

"Well, there's a little bit more to it than that," he said then paused, thinking. "I'll put you in VIP section for today." Annabeth tried not to blush at the implications of that. "Since you're new," he added and chuckled knowingly. "Don't worry," he smiled. "You're not quite my type."

Annabeth forced a laugh to ease the tension.

"You'll have to wear Piper's name tag though," he explained, reaching underneath the bar to find it. "I hope you don't mind." He found it and handed it to her.

"No it's fine" Annabeth smiled and pinned it to her dress and began to wonder how Piper was doing as Annabeth Chase for the afternoon.

* * *

~edited 6.15.18~


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: I do not own any of the wonderful character thought up by Rick Riordan. It's my first fanfiction and I would love not to get sued.**

 **Anyways, hope you enjoy!**

Annabeth's night began slowly. The VIP section wasn't very busy. It wasn't until she saw a girl get puked on at the regular bar that Annabeth realized how lucky she was to be working in the VIP section. She spent most of the night leaning against the wall near the entrance of the section and talking to the bouncer George. Together they watched girls get groped by random sloppy middle aged men and didn't know whether to laugh or be concerned. Annabeth checked with the 3 groups seated in the VIP section every 5 minutes or so. It wasn't much work so she just talked to George for the rest of the time. They talked about school and about his two 6-year-old daughters, Annie and Laurel.

The later it got the the more people stumbled into the VIP section. By 11:25 pm Annabeth no longer had time to chat with George. She was constantly juggling drink orders and other strange VIP requests.

After there were about 20 parties in the VIP section, another girl was assigned to the section to manage the dozens of people. The waitresses name was Rose. She seemed nice enough. She had olive toned skin, blue eyes and big boobs. She would approach tables full of young guys with her chest thrust out. Annabeth rolled her eyes as she watched her shamelessly flirt with all the young customers. Soon enough, Rose had taken over all the cute guy's tables and left Annabeth to tend to the other 14.

Annabeth approached the table of a man who had just walked in. He was sprawled out across one of the white L-shaped couches in the far right corner of the room. As she neared she noted he had blonde hair curly hair similar to hers. It was pulled back into a very Annabeth-like ponytail. She shook her head internally at the strange similarities.

"Hello sir, can I get you something?" Annabeth smiled charmingly.

"Hi," the man looked up at her, "I'll take a tall glass of you." He smiled drunkenly, Annabeth could smell the alcohol on his breath the minute he opened his mouth.

"That's funny," Annabeth struggled to maintain a smile, "do you actually want something?"

"You heard me, I want some of that ass," The man cocked his head to the side and reach forward to touch her but she smacked his hand away. The man stood up suddenly. Annabeth jumped back startled. "Do you know how I am?" He hissed as he got closer to her. The smell of alcohol was overwhelming as he breathed in her face, waiting for an answer.

Annabeth looked up at him, weighing her options, "Please sit down, sir," Annabeth swallowed hard. The man didn't move, just swayed slightly. "Please sir, I don't want to have to have to ask you to leave."

"Bitch," the man mumbled then fell back onto the white couch in a drunken stupor, muttering to himself. Annabeth took a deep breath and strode over to George to let him know to keep an eye on him. As she approached the entrance she noticed he wasn't there. In his place there was a young man with jet black hair leaning lazily against the wall. She tapped him lightly on the shoulder but he didn't notice. She tapped him a second time. He spun around looking slightly disoriented. His surprised expression quickly melted into a very _very_ nice smile.

"Hey," he said his blue green eyes brightened when he saw Annabeth

"Hi," Annabeth smiled sweetly, trying to recall everything Piper had told ever told her about how to talk to boys.

"I'm Percy" he ran his fingers through his hair and held out a hand

"Hi" Annabeth repeated shaking his hand.

"So, do you have a name or.." He trailed off. Annabeth opened her mouth to answer when something caught her eye. Through her peripheral vision she spotted Gloria attempting to help a middle aged drunk male back to his room. He was stumbling all over the place and looked super pale. Annabeth tried not to laugh as she watched Gloria's horrified face when the man bent over and threw up all over her shoes. Gloria let out a disgusted shriek and hastily backed away from him.

As Annabeth hadn't answered, Percy looked down at her name tag. "Well hello Piper," he said and smiled showing his dazzling white teeth. "You look awfully beautiful tonight, would you like to join me for a drink?" Annabeth didn't reply again she was too preoccupied with what was going on at the bar.

The drunk man looked up at Gloria apologetically. The southern belle hid her revulsion behind a bitter looking smile and half limped into the kitchen, leaving a little trail of vomit behind her. Annabeth chuckled as another woman came out and walked him out the door, keeping a safe distance throughout her task.

Percy stared at Annabeth, his brows knitted together thoughtfully at her unexpected reaction to his offer. Girls normally blushed over his every word, swooned at his cheesy lines. He peered into Annabeth's gray eyes and realized they weren't on him. The puckered skin between his brows deepened as he glanced behind him, trying to find out what was distracted her, what could be so amusing.

Annabeth turned back to face Percy but couldn't stop giggling, the image of Gloria's horrified expression still dancing around in her mind. "What?" Annabeth smiled widely.

"Can I buy you a drink?" He repeated, smile wavering a bit.

"Sorry I have to work," Annabeth looked him up and down, "besides I don't get drinks with strangers." She added, feeling a bit flattered. After all the guy standing in front of her was quite attractive. His sea green eyes were absolutely gorgeous, she'd never seen anything like it. Raven hair was endearingly messy and fell across his forehead, only flattering his bright eyes. Through his t-shirt she could see his muscular yet lean build and his tan skin practically glowed beneath the strange lighting of the bar.

"C'mon, where are you from?" He asked, looking confident as ever.

"Why, are you gonna track me down?" Annabeth joked.

"Maybe," he half shrugged, "maybe I just want to know more about you, get to know you better." He smiled coyly and took a step closer to her, "then I won't be a stranger."

"I still have to work," Annabeth said trying not to get lost in his eyes or distracted by the way her pulse raced.

"Are you sure? I'm quite a catch," he said reaching forward and pushing a strand of hair blonde behind Annabeth's ear, something Luke used to do. Annabeth's body immediately tensed as the feelings resurfaced and she quickly stepped back. Her smiled vanished as her mind was flooded with memories she'd tried to suppress.

"Sorry" Annabeth said coldly, "You're not my type."

"Your loss," he shrugged, for real this time, "Do you want to set me up with table then?" Annabeth smiled and tried to clear her mind of all things regarding Luke. She motioned him to follow her. She walked him over to a corner couch.

"If you need anything call me over" Annabeth said and walked away to attend to a new man who had just walked in. She took her attention off him for a moment as she searched for George. Her eyes scanned the room but alas, he was no where to be found. Luckily the man who had been rude to her earlier had his head thrown back and was talking to himself. He didn't look like he was going to cause anymore trouble.

Returning her eyes to the handsome young man, around 22 years old, waiting to be seated. She flashed a charming smile at him but he didn't see her. His eyes were on Rose who was rushing over to him, chest out, a broad smile on her face. Annabeth took a swift 180 and walked back to the entrance of the VIP section hoping to spot another drunk disaster and maybe spot George in the process. She went back to leaning against the wall. She watched as drunk couples slobbered over each other on the dance floor.

"Piper!" Annabeth hear someone yell. She turned around, surprised by her friend's name, and expected to find Piper, instead she saw Percy. He surrounded by the group of suspiciously underage looking year old she waited on earlier. Annabeth had been scolded within the first week for not serving the young rich kids, apparently when you had money the legal drinking age didn't matter. She wasn't supposed to ask their age, just serve them. It wasn't the underage drinking that bothered her so much as the smug attitudes of the girls.

Annabeth raised her eyebrows and mouthed _me_?

Percy smiled and pretending to be thinking, pressing his index finger to his chin cheesily, "Yes, you!" He yelled and motioned Annabeth over.

Annabeth glanced behind her, at the clock above the bar, 11:45pm. Only 15 minutes left in her shift. She mustered a smile and walked over to Percy.

"What?" she answered.

Percy looked at her taken aback. "I thought waitresses were supposed to be polite to the customers?" Percy said and he looked around at the girls surrounding him for support.

"Mhm" they all spoke in unison and nodded. Annabeth ignored how creepy that was and kept her eyes on Percy.

"I'm sorry, what can I do for you tonight sir?" Annabeth smile was becoming less believable by the minute.

"I'll have an old fashioned, and what about you girls, what do you want?" He asked, never letting his gaze leave Annabeth, amused by her effect on him. It was usually the other way around. The girls all listed their drink orders but Annabeth didn't write anything down, she didn't want to risk being the first to break eye contact. It felt a lot like a competition and Annabeth didn't like to lose. The more drinks the girls ordered the more agitated Annabeth became.

"And will that all be on your tab Mr…" Annabeth asked, a sardonic look on her face.

"Jackson," Percy cut in, leaned forward, "and yes, that'll be on my tab" he blinked slowly before falling back onto the couch. He grinned, noticing her fingers twitch. Annabeth turned around swiftly and strode away, clenching her jaw and wondering why she was so irritated by the interaction.

"OMG, she totally thinks you're like totally dreamy," snickered one of girls once she was out of earshot.

"You think?" Percy muttered quietly as he watched Annabeth walk away. There was something about her that intrigued him, something mysterious about what lay behind those deep gray eyes of hers.

Annabeth walked to the bar, "Hey can I get an old fashion, two cosmos, a Manhattan, a sex on the beach, a margarita and a mojito?" She said to Nico.

He raised his eyebrows at her, "Is that all?" He joked, grinning sarcastically.

"No," she pinched the bridge of her nose, balancing her elbow on the edge of the bar, "what would you say is strongest?" She asked without acknowledging his joke.

"Um," Nico stepped back and looked down, inspecting the liquor in the cabinet below him, "Probably the Pisco, why?" He asked looking back up at her, a tendril of concern laced in his dark iris.

"I'm gonna need two shots of that too." She replied simply.

"That's what they ordered?" Nico raised an eyebrow.

"Uh, yup." Annabeth nodded and smiled innocently, taking a seat at one of the unoccupied bar stools.

"Okay," Nico dismissed his suspcious with a skeptifall look and began to craft an old fashioned, "you okay?" He asked, without looking up.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Annabeth replied, "A drunk guy just ask for 'a piece of this ass' but I'm fine."Annabeth watched Nico fast hands as he finished making the Manhattan.

"Yeah, sorry about that." Nico glanced up at her, an apologetic smile coloring his face, "That's why I put you in the VIP section, there are generally less creeps but there's always a few that slip through the cracks." Annabeth looked at herself in the mirror above the bar and smoothed the frizz around her roots. She and Nico sat in silence for a few seconds, listening to the blaring music and obnoxiously loud chatter around them when Annabeth noticed the time.

"Hey Nico it's 12:05, my shift ended 5 minutes ago. Should I deliver these and then go?" She asked, hopping off the surprisingly comfortable stool.

"No, it's probably fine, Rose can do it. You can go, just make sure you sign out with Luke before leaving," Annabeth sighed, she'd been hoping she wouldn't have to face Luke again tonight. She quickly said goodnight to Nico and returned Piper's name tag.

She walked into the kitchen and saw Luke leaning into a corner. She walked towards him at a brisk pace hoping to get their talk over with fast. The sight she saw as she neared however managed to slow her down. Between him and the wall was a blonde girl who was giggling as he whispered into her neck, Gloria. Annabeth's face went red and she fought to keep her composure as she tapped him on the shoulder. He pulled away from Gloria looking alarmed and slightly dazed.

"Hi," Annabeth said, "I'm leaving." She spun around quickly and began to speed walk out of the kitchen so Luke couldn't catch up to her.

"Wait, Annabeth!" He yelled behind her.

"What was that about?" Gloria said, obviously Luke hadn't briefed her on their relationship. As Annabeth walked sped out the kitchen door she ran into Rose who was carrying the tray of drinks that were going to Percy's table. She spotted the two shots sitting on the tray and stopped her.

"Hey, sorry I totally forgot, these shots are for a different guy sitting" Annabeth looked around, "Right there," she pointed at the ugliest guy in the bar. "I know right, gross, don't worry, I can take it to him." Annabeth ended her rambling with a sweet smile. She picked up both the shots and walked into the direction of the guy she'd pointed to. She waited until Rose was out of sight and Nico was looking away before making a beeline for the exit.

Once she was out of the bar and there was no one around her she quickly downed the two shots and disposed of the shot glasses in a potted a plant. She was so angry about Luke that she barely felt it burn as they went down her throat.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: I do not own any of the wonderful characters thought up by Rick Riordan. It's my first fanfiction and I would love not to get sued.**

 **Sorry this took so long, I had an exchange student and it was massively time-consuming, but she went home yesterday. But now I just got asked to prom, so I'll post as frequently as I can. Anyways, hope you enjoy!**

Almost immediately she felt a wave of heat rush over her, sending chills down her spine. After a short 30 seconds of intense speed walking, Annabeth decided to give her feet a break (after all she'd been walking in stilettos all night). A minute or two later, she was walking at a comfortable pace when she hear someone calling her name from behind her. She recognized the voice in less than a second. Annabeth rolled her eyes but ignored it and kept on walking.

"Annabeth!" She picked up the pace, "Wait!" Annabeth felt a hand on her shoulder. She quickly shook it off and walked out the front door of the Lobby. Luke ran out from behind her and stood in front of her, blocking her path. "Annabeth!" Luke pleaded "Stop!"

Annabeth took a deep breath and stopped a few inches from running into him. "What?" She asked, hoping the effects of the alcohol had kicked in.

"Well, um, wow, I didn't think you would actually stop for me," He said panting.

Annabeth pretended to look pleasantly surprised, "Wow," she said, "you know me sooo well." Her smile vanished as she pushed him to the side and kept on walking. She heard Luke breath out exasperated and then heard his footsteps following her.

He jumped out in front of her again, "Annabeth please, look it's not what is looked like."

Annabeth stopped walking and laughed humorously, "Oh, and what did it look like?"

"It's just that," he began nervously, "It looked like me and Gloria were you know, like..." He sighed and reached forward to stroke Annabeth's cheek. Annabeth slapped away his hand and tried to shove him out of her way. "Annabeth!" He said, grabbing her by the shoulders, "Why do you… Why are you..?!" He practically yelled, his eyes shone in frustration. Annabeth threw him off of her and kept on walking. "Why" she heard him behind her, "I just don't get it, why can't I be with Gloria. What did I even do?"

After hearing his Annabeth spun around on her heels. "Why do you even care who I'm with?" He continued rambling. Once he noticed Annabeth storming towards him he went silent. She waited until she was close enough to see the beads of sweat forming on his hairline.

"What you did, was unforgivable." Annabeth said in a deadly whisper, "I told you not to come this summer, it was your choice, you made that decision last year and you made this decision a few weeks ago and now you need to learn to live with the consequences." Annabeth was about to turn around and finish her walk but stopped to add. "And I don't care who you date, I have a boyfriend" After that Annabeth spun around and took off.

Annabeth was about 5 minutes from reaching her building when the alcohol took full effect. Annabeth had hoped it would make her inhibitions fade away but instead she just felt a tad bit looser. Annabeth was only a few meters from her building when she stopped. She forced a broad smile, trying to trick herself into being happy. "I can do this" She said trying to convince herself. She looked down at her phone and held down 4 until she was speed dialing Luke. She smiled to herself and raised the phone to her ear. It went straight to voicemail.

"Hey," Annabeth answered. "What is up?" She paused. "I just wanted to let you know, you are a fucking asshole. Thanks" Annabeth put down the phone to hang up but then picked it back up. "And by the way, I am never gonna forgive you Luke. It's just not gonna happen so you should just give up and torment someone else. Gloria seems more than happy to fill that position so, I give you full permission to fuck her over, Thanks." She hung up the phone, impressed she'd kept such a pleasant and composed tone the entire call.

Annabeth smiled to herself. She flipped her hair, imagining she was in a movie and walked into her building through the back door. She reached her and Piper's room and knocked on the door. "Helloo," she sang as well as she could in a quiet whisper, "It's me, your lover, Jason." Annabeth could see Piper flip on the lights through their old two-way peephole. Annabeth waited until Piper opened the door before continuing. "I've brought a pinata." She added and winked. She began laughing silently. Piper looked at her incredulously before ushering her inside.

"Are you okay?" Piper asked, wondering how she had taken the shock of Luke as a supervisor.

"Uh, duh" Annabeth smiled, hitting her playfully on her arm.

"Okay you just seem a little too happy" Piper said suspiciously, crossing her arms.

Annabeth opened her mouth wide and pretended to look astonished, "No," she gasped.

Piper's expression quickly changed from confused to annoyed. She stared at Annabeth with her mouth slightly open, "Now I know why," she walked into the bathroom and started the shower. "Why?" She asked after walking back out.

"Um, I'm sorry I would have been fine, but I saw someone there that made me not that way." Annabeth trailed off her nonsensical sentence as she watched Piper walk over to their cupboards.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about Luke, but I mean come on, it was _that_ bad." She pulled out one of three gray mugs that the hotel provided and began filling it with water.

"Uh mhm," Annabeth nodded profusely.

"Okay, well there's no use fighting you about it now, you're drunk, just drink this and get in the shower." Piper held out the full mug.

"Hey, I'm not even drunk. I had two shots, maybe less because they spilled a little." Annabeth said in a normal tone.

"Fine, you still have to drink this." Piper shoved the mug into her hands and walked into bathroom to turn off the shower. Annabeth sat down on the bottom bunk and shut Piper's laptop. "So, are you gonna tell me what happened?" Piper asked plopping down onto the bed next to her.

"Well, I saw Luke with a girl, and I left him a nice voicemail congratulating him on his promotion to supervisor." Annabeth smiled innocently and took a sip from the mug.

"Sure," Piper said with an unconvinced smile, "And what did this voicemail say?"

"Nothing, just that he's.." Annabeth looked up at the ceiling as if trying to recall a detail form long gone memory, "An asshole." She whispered quickly before immediately taking another sip of water.

"Yep, that sounds like you." Piper smiled, "Oh well, what could I expect, after all it was I who sent you into the eye of the tiger."

Annabeth looked up at Piper, one eyebrow cocked, "Yeah, Piper, I don't think that's the right saying."

"Well I'm sorry smarty pants, but I just woke up," Piper said.

"Your computer was on." Annabeth retorted.

"I didn't specify what I woke up from," Piper holding up her hands in surrender. "Okay, now get off my bed, we have the emporium at seven tomorrow." Piper smile softened, "I'm sorry I gave you my long shift, yours was an hour less than mine."

"It's fine," Annabeth shrugged "besides it's good for you to get a break every once in awhile." Annabeth finished the rest of the water and then stood up. She placed the mug in the sink and walked into the bathroom. She quickly washed the makeup of her face while happily humming. Once she was clean she dried her face and then changed into her pajamas. She turned off the lights and climbed up onto the top bunk, careful not to step on Piper. She climbed under the covers and laid her head down on her shabby pillow. She tried to sleep but her mind kept trailing off into strange distant worlds. She was somewhere between reality and Narnia when her thoughts caught on the guy she'd met at the bar. Percy Jackson. She repeated his name for a while. The name sounded familiar, but she couldn't place it. She tried to picture his handsome face but she got stuck when it came to his eyes. There was something about those eyes that drew her in, made her want to get closer. It was about 12:45am when Annabeth finally fell asleep, still thinking about mysterious boy's eyes.


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: I do not own any of the wonderful characters thought up by Rick Riordan. It's my first fanfiction and I would love not to get sued.**

Annabeth and Piper walked into the Emporium with seconds to spare. Annabeth and Piper were fighting because Piper had wanted to shower at 6:45 am.

"Okay, I know, but I hear that everytime, and everytime it takes 15 minutes," Annabeth replied to Pipers remark that her shower would have only taken 5 minutes.

"No, the shower itself always takes less than-" Piper was cut short by their new supervisor.

"Hi, are you Annabeth Chase and Piper Mclean?" A woman with an artificial smile and a short blonde bob asked.

"Yes," Piper smiled charmingly.

"Have you both worked in the emporium before?"

"Yes," replied Annabeth, "But we worked the afternoon shift, and under a different supervisor"

"You're both late," The woman spun away from them, but kept on speaking. "Annabeth, today you will be working as a shopgirl. Just helping out customers, encouraging them to buy whatever their heart desires." The woman turned back around to face Annabeth. "My name is Shirley, and if you need anything I'll be in the back, you need to stay in this area." She motioned to the front of the shop. "Here's your name tag, check in with me after your shift ends," She then turned to Piper and started speaking to her before walking off. Annabeth took a deep breath and looked around at her mornings would consist of for the next two weeks. Annabeth positioned herself near the entrance of the Emporium and waited for potential customers.

Annabeth only had a few minutes of peace before a swarm of teenagers came into the store. First, a group of girls. "Hi, are you girls looking for anything in particular?"

The girls smiled sweetly, "No," one of them replied.

"Okay, well if I you need anything, let me know," Annabeth smiled as the girls began flipping through the bikinis.

A few seconds later, a group of boys walked in. Annabeth approached them and asked, "Are you guys looking for anything in particular?"

One of the boys whispered something and they all snickered. "No," one of the said and wiggled his eyebrows at her.

"If you have any questions, call me over" Annabeth smiled but the boys were already walking away. The morning continued this way for the next hour. Around 8:30am Piper snuck away from the cash register and found Annabeth.

"Hey," Piper whispered into Annabeth ear and she grabbed her from behind. Annabeth jumped and looked behind her.

"Hey," Annabeth replied, "thank god you're here, I'm bored out of my mind."

"What? No one wants help picking out sunscreen," Piper joked.

"I mean you'd think my help would be in high demand but nope, nothing." Annabeth laughed.

"So," Piper smiled wide, "guess what?"

Annabeth's smile turned worried, "what?" she asked.

"Oh wow, no need to be so excitement," Piper replied taken aback.

"I just told you I didn't really want to do anything," Annabeth responded, "and I was hoping you would follow those instructions."

Piper rolled her eyes, "Oh my gosh, it's your birthday, you have to do something. Trust me okay? You'll have fun,"

"Fine," Annabeth smiled at her friend, "so, what do you have planned?"

Piper laughed, "Well, I'm definitely not telling you now."

Annabeth was about to argue when she was hit by a group of young girls rushing to leave the emporium. The girls who hit Annabeth didn't apologize, just made an apologetic hand motion and kept running behind her friends.

"What the fuck?" exclaimed Piper as another group almost toppled her. Annabeth stepped forward and pulled one of the girls back.

"Hi, sorry, why are you all running? Did something happen?" Annabeth asked nicely.

"Yeah," the girls relid out of breath, "Percy Jackson is out there," Annabeth's face froze.

"Thanks," Annabeth said as the girls turned back around and rejoined her friends.

"Oh my gosh!" Piper squealed, "I've been so good, I knew it, I just knew it. I'm getting such good karma." Piper kept talking to herself in one long run on sentence of gibberish. Annabeth wasn't paying attention, she was thinking about last night. She was thinking about the strange encounter she had had with a dark haired boy with blue green eyes. "Annabeth!" Piper exclaimed.

"What?" Annabeth was snapped out of her daze.

"He's right there! Do you see him?" Piper shouted from the entrance of the emporium. She pointed at a group of men in black on the other side of the pool area.

"Oh my god, stop yelling," Annabeth walked over to where she was, trying to match one of the men up with the Percy she had met the night before. Four men wearing all black were surrounding a younger man. She saw the same dark hair as last night but couldn't see his eyes as he was wearing sunglasses. She tried to focus on their facial features that could reveal his identity but was distracted by Piper's breathing. She turned. "Are you panting?"

"What?" Piper replied eyes wide, breathing heavily.

"Are you honestly freaking out this much right now, it looks like you might have a panic attack." Annabeth tried to feel Piper's feverish cheeks.

"No, I'm fine, leave me alone," Piper spoke through strained breath, "I just never thought this moment would come."

"Piper, calm down" Annabeth breathed slowly, trying to get Piper to join her.

"No, I just, don't even know who to thank" Piper looked up at the sky, "THANK YOU!" She yelled. Annabeth tried to muffle her screamed but it was too late, everyone was staring at them.

Annabeth froze as Percy took off his sunglasses and made eye contact with her. "Piper!" he shouted across the pool area. Piper, waved and subsequently passed out. Annabeth caught her mid fall.

"Uh, um," Annabeth started panicking, "Shirley!" She yelled. In less than 10 seconds, Shirley was taking Piper into the back, muttering to herself about how stupid teenagers were. She wouldn't let Annabeth come back with her and instead put her in charge of the shop while she was gone.


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: I do not own any of the wonderful characters thought up by Rick Riordan. It's my first fanfiction and I would love not to get sued.**

Percy watched across the pool and tried to not laugh at the mayhem he had caused. He began walking over to greet the girl he'd met last night. She was talking to disgruntled looking woman with a short bob. The woman walked away, carrying the girl who had passed out and left her standing there alone. Percy instructed his bodyguards to wait for him at the entrance and approached her. He tapped her on the shoulder. Annabeth spun around, her breathing thin.

"Hi Piper," He smiled charmingly.

"That's not my name," Annabeth steadied her breath.

Percy looked down at her nametag

～ANNABETH CHASE～

"Well, I can see that now" He took a step closer to Annabeth, "why'd you lie to me, worried I would track you down" he joked. Annabeth looked behind her, hoping to see Piper but instead all she saw was the closed door to Shirley's office. Percy frowned, not receiving the reaction he had hoped out of Annabeth. "Are you okay?" he asked, placing his hand on her arm.

Annabeth took a step back and shrugged him off "No, I'm not okay, my friend just passed out and it's your fault."

"Hey, I can't help it, my presence is just too much for some girls," Percy grinned. Annabeth didn't smile. Percy removed his sunglasses, "I'm sorry, okay?"

Annabeth looked into his blue green eyes. She felt herself start to get lost and quickly looked away. "I have to work, okay? You should probably go" She said catching herself looking into his eyes again.

"You are no fun," Percy laughed, "I have to work too, yet I am here talking to you aren't I?"

"Yes, but-"

"Don't worry," Percy cut her off, "If anything, I'm helping out the business." He walked over to the Hotel Escape T-shirts and began running his fingers along them. Annabeth watched as Percy's body guards held off wide eyed teenage girls.

"Stop," Annabeth said reluctantly knowing he was right, "I'm going to have to ask you to leave." Annabeth smiled smugly.

"And why is that?" Percy walked back over to Annabeth.

"Because, you are touching everything without buying anything and causing a riot." Annabeth raise eyebrows at the crowd of girls trying to push past the security guards.

"Wow," Percy took a step closer to Annabeth, "What I'm noticing here is a pattern of disrespect to guests." Percy smiled and took a step closer. "Don't worry I won't tell anyone"

Annaeth smiled sweetly and got even closer, "I wouldnt, becuase I could call this harrrassment," she looked into his eyes inncnetly, "And I wonder whatyour fans might say about yhou harrassing a sweet innocnet, _underage,_ city girl who is just rtying to make a living in this hotel."

Percy cocked an eyebrow, "You should consider being nice to potential customers, for all you know I had planned to buy everything in this store" Annabeth opened her mouth to say something but Percy kept speaking. "Now, I'm going to go, however, I would like to see you again," He took another step closer until their faces were 6 inches away from each others. "Would you care to get drink with me tonight?"

Annabeth smiled, "I can't, it's my birthday and I can think of a few hundred better ways to spend it." Percy raised his eyebrows at her, "Thanks," She said and lightly pushed him away.

Percy looked at Annabeth and smiled, "If you say so." Then, in one swift hand motion, gesture his bodyguards to follow him and walked away. Annabeth watched him walk away and then moved on to handle the hundred girls who were desperate to buy Hotel Escape T-shirts.


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: I do not own any of the wonderful characters thought up by Rick Riordan. It's my first fanfiction and I would love not to get sued.**

"Are you sure you're okay?" Annabeth asked Piper who was laying on her bed.

"Yeah, honestly, I think" Piper began to sit up, "I should just shower."

"No," Annabeth pushed Piper back down onto her back, "Shirley said that you had to rest,"

"Fine," Piper sighed, "as a gift to you on your birthday I will sit in the bed until you get back, watching the office and gilmore girls."

"Thanks," Annabeth smiled and stood up to get ready for her shift at the Lux Lounge. Piper reached for her mac and opened her imessage. She quickly typed,

 **She's leaving in 20**

Piper then opened netflix and considered the titles. She started the Dream Team Office episode and hummed along to the theme song.

PING PING

Piper heard her phone from across the room. She checked her messages on her computer and smiled as everyone replied excitedly. Annabeth came out of the bathroom, a curling iron in her hand.

"Okay, how do you normally do this?" Annabeth asked.

"No!" Piper half yelled as Annabeth drew the curling iron close to her hair.

"What?" Annabeth asked startled.

"For good, 60's curls, use curlers." Piper smiled, glad to put her hair styling knowledge to use.

"I obviously don't have enough time for curlers." Annabeth explained and once again picked up the curling iron.

"Wait!" Piper exclaimed, "That's why I brought my heated curlers, they'll take ten minutes tops." Annabeth looked at her dubiously, "Here, I'll show you." Piper stood up from the bed and approached the bathroom.

"Piper," Annabeth said irritated and moved towards her but was pulled back by the curling iron cord.

"Oh my gosh, I'm totally fine," Piper said. Annabeth just stared with pleading eyes. Piper rolled her eyes, "Fine, I'll show you," Piper began doing jumping jacks.

After Piper had done approximately 15 jumping jacks Annabeth stopped her. "Okay, okay," Annabeth gave in, "Now please help me, I don't know what to do," She turned to look at herself in the mirror as Piper went through the closet looking for the curlers.

15 minutes later, Annabeth was changed, her hair was curled and her makeup was done. "Promise me you'll rest?" Annabeth asked as she plucked her room key off the hook next to the door and put it in her bag.

"Yes!" Piper smiled, "Just go!" She started playfully pushing annabeth out the door. Annabeth laughed but was a little weirded out at how hard Piper was pushing her.

"Babye" She sang and walked out the door, putting the worries out of her mind.

Annabeth reached the Lux Lounge by 1:15pm and managed to only get a few odd looks. She walked into the lounge and was amazed at the redecorating they had done. The enormous dance floor that lay in the middle of the room was decorated with a checkered pattern. Everything in the room was 60's. It fit the theme perfectly.

"Hey Annabeth," Hannah, her supervisor, yelled across the room as she saw her. Annabeth smiled and waved. Hannah was one of the few supervisors that managed to make the job fun. Hannah spouted off a couple orders before running across the stage the sat in the middle of the room. "You look great!" Hannah grinned as she looked Annabeth up and down. I love the big curls the makeup, they're so twiggy."

"Thanks," Annabeth replied, "Piper did them, but I have to say, these fake eyelashes are testing my strength." They both laughed.

"If I were you, I'd fight the urge to take them off, because they make your eyes look amazing." Hannah led Annabeth to the bar. "And I love that dress," Hannah reached into a drawer and pulled out Annabeth's name tag, "probably because I picked it out," They both laughed again.

"Well, you have great taste," Annabeth smiled.

"Thank you," Hannah stood up straight, "Okay, so I know you've worked at the Lux Lounge many times before but this show is a little different." Annabeth nodded. "Basically, the show is still dance based but we're going to try to include the audience. Especially the VIP, and they have the front rows so, that won't be too hard."

"Mhm" Annabeth said, reassuring her she understood.

"This show is also longer than the previous ones, there will only be two showing where as the others had three or four." Reached into another drawer, picked up a clipboard and checked Annabeth's name off of it. "For the rest of the week you're just gonna work as a waitress taking drink orders and maybe a little backstage if you are needed. And one last thing," Hannah looked up, "I have you signed up to be dance participant if needed, but if you're uncomfortable with it, I can cross you off the list."

"Of course, that fine," Annabeth smiled, and considered spending her birthday wishes so that she wouldn't have to go up on stage.

"Okay, the first show starts at 3:00pm. So get settled and then find Edward and ask what you can help out with set wise, okay?"

"Okay"

Hannah began to walk away but turned back at the last minute, "Happy birthday by the way,"

"Thanks."


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: I do not own any of the wonderful characters thought up by Rick Riordan. It's my first fanfiction and I would love not to get sued.**

Annabeth took a deep breath and straightened out her glossy dress before stepping out from behind the black stage curtains to help guests find seats. She helped two young couples on what looked like a double date find a booth. Then, having noted that the rest of the guests were being helped, she ran behind the bar and picked up her phone to check the time. 2:35 pm. She put down her phone and quickly reapplied her lipstick.

Annabeth helped groups find seating until almost 3:00 pm. She was then called backstage to help figure out a problem with the schedule. She quickly fixed the error, which turned out to be nothing more than a typo, and planned to use to opportunity to ask about the dancing she may be involved in but was swept away by Hannah before she could.

"Come with me," Hannah said as dragged Annabeth across the stage. She sat her down at the bar and started explaining "Okay, look, I don't want to put too much pressure on you," She anxiously tapped her fingers on the bar. "But I really need this night to go well," Hannah quickly poured herself a glass of water, "I talked to um, Bruce. Do you know who that is?" She looked up at Annabeth who shook her head, "The hotel manager, Bruce? We call him Big Bruce" She shook her head and took a sip of her water. "Anyways, he told me that since I started managing the Lux Lounge, the have been more and more mistakes and it's not as profitable as the rest of the activities." Annabeth nodded, she understood why she was in hot water. Ever since she'd begun working at the Lounge every week she'd seen more and more empty seats in the audience. "Bruce is coming to watch tonight's show," Hannah quickly glanced at the door, "and he's made it very clear that if tonight doesn't go well I have no chance at keeping my job."

"I'm so sorry," Annabeth tried to comfort her, "I think the shows are great,"

"Oh please," Hannah laughed without humor, "Last month, the Latin music show, we barely had 50 people."

"What can I do?" asked Annabeth, "to help the show go well?"

Hannah took a deep breath and put her now empty glass face down next to the sink, "Just make sure everything is going smoothly, if anyone isn't doing their job I need you to go and say something."

"I can definitely do that," Annabeth stood up and hugged Hannah over the bar, "don't worry about anything," Annabeth spoke through Hannah's curly auburn hair, "We're a well oil machine."

"Let's hope so," Hannah forced a smiled.

"I'm gonna help people find seats, okay?" Annabeth smiled hoping to cheer her up. Hannah pursed her lips, nodded, and took off towards the stage.

"Hi, welcome to the Lux Lounge," Annabeth approached a family that had just walked in. "How many in your party?"

"Five" the eldest daughter replied politely.

"Alright well, you guys got here right in time, we close the doors in 5 minutes. There are only four groups of five seats left, there, there and there," Annabeth pointed.

"Thanks," the mother replied sounding tired.

"No problem, and if you need to use a restroom there's one located on the right side of either entrance." The mother nodded, and the family began to walk away, "Oh, also if you need any drinks just come find me," Annabeth practically yelled over the noise of the show intro beginning. Annabeth looked around to make sure everything was in order and then walked over to the bar.

"Hey," She said to Jorge the bartender.

"Hi," Jorge smiled warmly and began to give Annabeth and two other waitresses directions. "Britney, you need go to VIP booths A and B, Ella you're on booths C and D, Annabeth E and F." They all nodded in unison. Annabeth bent down and adjusted the zipper on her white leather knee high boots that had slid down. She stood back up, grabbed a notepad and a pen off the counter, and walked along to aisle until she reached the VIP booths. She first helped booth F and then E. After delivering their drinks she told them that she would check in with them every twenty minutes to see if they needed anything and sat down at the bar to watch the show. That was one of the perks of working at the Lux Lounge, there was always something to watch. After all though, spending a week watching the same Motown music show day after day caused it to become boring surprisingly quickly. Annabeth had never cared much for 60's music, but the show was spy themed, and she loved the action. Even though the show was 3 hours long, it went by fast. It always did the first time you watched it.

Annabeth was wiping down the tables, preparing for the 7:00pm show, when she spotted Hannah out of the corner of her eye. "Hannah!" She yelled and waved her over. "Did the manager say anything?"

"No, he didn't show!" Hannah smiled nervously, "I guess he'll come to the later one?"

"Maybe," Annabeth smiled and tried to comfort her, "Everything will go great, don't worry."


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: I do not own any of the wonderful characters thought up by Rick Riordan. It's my first fanfiction and I would love not to get sued.**

Annabeth had just taken booth E's drink orders when she saw someone familiar in the crowd. Sitting in booth B was Percy Jackson. Annabeth hid her face in her notepad and quickly made her way back to the bar hoping he hadn't seen her. She handed the notepad to Jorge and took a seat on a bar stool.

Annabeth watched the show inconspicuously until Jorge was done preparing the drinks. She set them all on a silver tray and headed over to the booth to serve the booths. She strategically placed the drinks so that her face appeared distorted and unrecognizable. Annabeth greeted the guests in booth E with a polite smile and served them all there drinks.

She stood up and paused for a minute, lifting her head slightly to steal a glance at Percy. She saw him and felt a weird jolt of aggression when she was sitting with a very pretty brunette. She took a few steps back and stood on her tiptoes to get a better view over the dozens of heads that lay between them. The girl with him was wearing a short sleeved mini dress covered from top to bottom is sequins.

Annabeth raised her eyebrows and tried not to laugh as she noticed that her dress was reflecting the show light and illuminating the surrounding area. She saw the brunette lean over toward Percy, place a hand intimately on his chest and whisper something into his ear. Annabeth squinted trying to distinguish Percy's expression but it was too dark. Suddenly, she saw a glint of green across the room as he made eye contact with her. Annabeth gasped and instantly looked away, whipping her head in another direction. She let out a desperate sigh of regret when she realied it only made her look more guilty.

 _Calm down Annabeth_ , she told to herself, _It's so dark he doesn't even realize who it is._ Annabeth casually pretended to be talking to the guest on her left. The guest looked at her confused so she just smiled and politely informed him she had made a mistake. Annabeth straightened back up and walked confidently and causally back to the bar. She tried to keep a normal pace when walking back, but she could feel his eyes on her.

 _Act normal Annabeth, he still doesn't know who you are._ Annabeth told herself. Just then, a strobe light hit in the show illuminating Annabeth's face.

"Shit!" She whispered and sped back to the bar. She quickly handed her tray to Jorge and made a ridiculously unbelievable excuse about why she needed to head into the back. She sat in the employees only room until exactly ten minutes had passed. She finished counting and peeked her head out the door. She took a tentative step seeing the coast was clear.

"You, okay?" Jorge asked while wiping down the bar.

"Yeah," Annabeth replied, not making eye contact. She stepped out from behind the bar, her eyes still searching for any trace of Percy, "Just ran into someone I didn't want to see."

"Okay... " Jorge eyed Annabeth oddly, "just remember Bill is here tonight so we have to be on our best behavior."

"I know, I know." Annabeth scolded herself for potentially jeopardizing Hannah's job just to get away from a boy. She sat down on a bar stool and tried to figure out which part of the show they were at.

"I mean I knew you liked me but I had no idea it was enough to stalk me," Annabeth heard a irritatingly familiar voice behind her. She spun around on her bar stool.

"I'm not stalking y-" Percy cut her off.

"Shh, it's okay, I know it's your birthday, so as a gift, I'm going to invite you to dine with me tonight." Annabeth smiled silently. Percy grinned back, believing he'd won.

"Why? Disco Ball over there turned you down?" Annabeth cocked her head to the side. Percy's grin weakened. "Look, I'm working," Annabeth presented a professional smile when she noticed Jorge watching her. She turned around and walked down the aisle towards her assigned booths. Percy ran forward and grabbed her wrist, denying her movement. Annabeth turned back around and smiled politely, in case anyone was watching.

"What time do you get off?" Percy asked. Annabeth was about to tell him off when she spotted Bill sitting next to Hannah in the audience. He was watching her. Annabeth swallowed hard.

"Meet me by the bathroom in ten minutes," Annabeth whispered.

"Wow," Percy raised his eyebrows surprise, "Okay." Annabeth rolled her eyes and shook him off. She continued down the aisle and checked in with her booths. She glanced over at Percy's booth and saw his date was getting antsy without him.

She waited until the gunshot scene before sneaking away, she knew everyone including the staff would be distracted. She quickly walked towards the main exits, or as quickly as she could in her 6-inch heels. She glanced behind her to ensure no one had followed her, feeling rather paranoid and continued until she spotted him.

Percy was leaning against the wall, peering down at his phone. The bright light illuminating his even brighter eyes. Annabeth stopped a few feet away and watched him react to what he was reading. His natural smile widened and his eyes filled with an almost childlike glee. He put down his phone and looked up. He saw Annabeth and his smile turned mischievous. Annabeth caught herself smiling back and quickly brought her lips into a straight line. She walked towards him, trying to be quiet in her heels.

"Hey," Percy spoke in a soft seductive voice.

Annabeth felt chills up and down her spine, _No_ she ordered herself. "Hey!" Annabeth replied sarcastically mimicking his tone.

Percy eyed her innocently, "What?"

"You can't do this," Annabeth shook her head, "you can't just.." She met his gaze and was lost in his eyes. She opened her mouth to keep going but forgot what she was going to say. She felt fluttering in her stomach.

"I can't do what," Percy smirked, taking a step closer to her.

Annabeth shook off the feeling. She took a step back and continued, "You can't just come to where I work and bother me. There's a lot of pressure on me. I need this job. And I fully intend to keep it, so from now on I need you to stay away from me." She looked back up at him, "are we clear?" her confidence wavered as she felt her butterflies.

"Why don't you want me around?" Percy took a step closer. He put one hand on her waist and slowly pushed her back against the wall. Annabeth bit her lip and tried to ignore the sparks that ran through her where his hand lay. "Could you have feelings for me?" Percy gazed into Annabeth's gray eyes unable to read her.

"I do," She stated quietly. Percy grinned and lower his face so it was parallel with hers. Annabeth leaned forward and whispered into his ear, "Annoyance." Percy stopped, his lips inches from her neck.

"Fine," He stood up straight.

"Fine,"

He stared into her eyes for what seemed like hours, "I won't bother you anymore," Percy turned around and made his way back to his booth. She watched him walk away until she lost him in the crowd. She took a minute to compose herself and then walked back out. Annabeth checked with her booths and then sat down at the same bar stool. She tried to enjoy the show, but part of her couldn't forget how he had made her feel. She did her best to put it out of her mind and finish her shift.


	12. Chapter 12

**AN: I do not own any of the wonderful characters thought up by Rick Riordan. It's my first fanfiction and I would love not to get sued.**

Annabeth got to her room around 10:15pm. She knocked on the door, too exhausted to reach into her bag and grab her key. The door opened a crack as Piper whispered orders. "Piper," Annabeth answered exasperated, trying to slide her way into the room. Without a word Piper began to close the door. "Piper! What the fuck, let me in!" Annabeth exclaimed as she pushed past her. Annabeth acknowledged the two people standing awkwardly in her room with a quick "hey" before telling off Piper. She'd been scolding Piper for a full minute before she processed who the people in her room were. She stopped speaking and slowly turned around, in front of her stood Jason and stranger.

"So, since it's your birthday, I got Jason to drive up here to celebrate." Piper explained. Annabeth ran forward and hugged Jason, they had never been that close but she was relieved see a friendly face. "And this," Piper pointed at the other boy, "Is Jack,"

Who? Annabeth mouthed.

"Jason's roommate I was telling you about." Piper smiled.

"Ohh," Annabeth smiled and hugged him hello. Annabeth remembered Piper had been implying they'd be great together for the last few weeks. "Okay," Annabeth turned to Piper, "so what are we doing tonight? Because I know it's not like you planned a calm night of netflix."

"We are going to the roof." Piper stated, Annabeth mustered a weak smile. Piper was not impressed, "Jason, meet us up there. I have to talk to Annabeth about something first." Jason nodded, grabbed his green duffel bag off the bed and walked out, Jack followed not far behind him.

"What?" Annabeth sat down on the bed and slid off her boots.

"You could atleast try to act excited." Piper crossed her arms.

"I am excited!" Annabeth lied. Piper stared at her unconvinced, "Okay, okay it has just been a really long day so I'm a little tired."

"Well get untired then." Piper said irately. Her eyes softened, "I'm sorry, I know this is isn't what you thought your night would be but I promise you'll have fun. And" She walked towards the closet and began rummaging through her clothes, "if you come with me, you'll see that I have another surprise waiting upstairs."

"What? Jack? I told you to stop setting me up Piper," Piper turned around holding a dress and a matching pair of bra and underwear.

"I'm not setting you up, I just.." Piper thought for a moment, "think you two would get along very well."

"That's a setup," replied Annabeth struggling with the zipper to her dress.

"For friendship," Piper walked over to help Annabeth. "You need to wear this," Piper held out the clothes she'd pulled out of the closet.

"Why can't I wear my own clothes?" Annabeth asked slipping off her dress. Piper pointed at her discolored plain pink mom bra. Annabeth covered her chest defensively, "they aren't that bad. They're pink." Piper then pointed to her blue boy short underwear. Annabeth gave her a pointed look.

"Hey," Piper put her hands up in surrender, "I'm not saying they're not cute but they're not exactly seductive."

"Why on earth would I need to look seductive?" Annabeth laughed.

"Because, be honest," Piper said as Annabeth took the clothes from her outstretched arms, "when was the last time you had sex?"

"Oh my god Piper," Annabeth whined, "you didn't say anything did you?"

"No," Piper replied. Annabeth looked at her doubtfully, "maybe I implied that you'd been single for a while, but nothing more." Annabeth stared at her crossly. She dropped the clothes onto the bed.

"I'm not wearing this, I'm gonna wear what I want to wear."

"You can wear the shoes you want to wear" Piper suggested.

"No," Annabeth got up and moved towards her closet. She grabbed a pair of jeans shorts and a t-shirt.

"Don't make me do this." Piper warned.

"What could you do?" Annabeth laughed. Piper sighed.

"You're right Annabeth, it's your birthday, I'm being too pushy." She walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind her. A few moments later Annabeth heard Piper whisper "Shit," and then yell, "Can you hand me a tampon?"

"Yeah," Annabeth made her way over the the kitchen drawer where they kept them. She reached into the bottom of the drawer, "normal or super?" She turned around to ask.

"Sorry," Piper spoke from directly behind her.

"What are you do-" Annabeth started yelling as Piper pushed her out the door into the employee hallway in only her bra and underwear. "Piper, what the fuck! I'm gonna get in trouble."

"I know," Piper said through the thin wooden door, "I'll let you in once you put these on," Piper cracked the door and threw out the underwear and the dress."

"Are you kidding me?" Annabeth banged on the door.

"Why don't you wait and see," Piper replied. It only took one long awkward look from another young employee for Annabeth to change into Piper's royal blue minidress and lavender lace underwear. A minute later, she and Piper were on their way up to the roof.


	13. Chapter 13

**AN: I do not own any of the wonderful characters thought up by Rick Riordan. It's my first fanfiction and I would love not to get sued.**

"Is it fun working at a hotel?" Jack innocently tried to make conversation.

"It's okay," replied Annabeth trying not to look as bored as she was, "it's a lot more work than you'd think though."

"How so?" He inquired.

"There's a lot more going on behind the scenes than the guest know." Annabeth smiled politely and glanced over her shoulder at Piper and Jason. All she could see was a tangle of limbs.

"Do they do this a lot?" Asked Jack.

Annabeth nodded slowly, "whenever they apart for more than three hours." They both stood there silently until Annabeth couldn't stand it anymore. "Piper!" She turned and yelled, "what's the big surprise?" It took a minute but Piper unhooked herself from Jason and together they both walked over.

"What surprise?" She asked looking slightly disoriented.

"You told me there was a surprise waiting on the roof"

"Ohh," Piper turned to Jason, "Where is that surprise?"

"That surprise was supposed to get here at ten." Jason replied, defensively.

"Wait what?" Annabeth looked at Piper confused.

"You," Piper began to raise her voice, "were supposed to text her where to meet us!"

"I di-" Jason started, but was cut off by Piper phone.

"That's her calling me right now." Piper picked up the phone, "Hey," Piper turned her back to the group and began walking away, "No, don't worry" Annabeth tried to follow her but Jason wouldn't let her.

"It's a surprise!" He whispered.

"Did Jason text you?" Piper paused, "Just come up to the roof. Just take the elevator to the top floor and then take the emergency exit on the right, don't worry the alarm doesn't work. Go up and you'll find us." Piper hung up the phone and walked back towards the group.

"Who was it?" Asked Annabeth. They ignored her.

"Where is she?" Jason glanced at Annabeth, "… it"

"On its way" Piper replied. "Five minutes" She 's eyes widened.

"IS IT?" She turned towards Piper, practically jumping with excitement.

"I don't know," Piper shrugged. Just then the door opened and out walked Thalia. Annabeth squealed and ran towards her.

"Heyy" Thalia held out her arms. She and Annabeth hugged for a full minute. Annabeth was so happy. She hadn't seen Thalia in two months. She'd left school two weeks early on a school trip to Ecuador. Annabeth finally broke the hug. "So?!" Thalia yelled as they walked back towards the group, "who brought the vodka?" Jason raised a hand. "Well, where is it?" Jason pointed at his duffel bag. Thalia sat down on the hard cement floor and began sifting through the bag to find shot glasses and bottle of smirnoff. She started handing out the mismatched shot glasses. She turned to Jack, "Who are you?" she asked.

"I'm Jack." She paused for a minute and stared. He cleared his uncomfortably.

"Okay," she finally began moving again. She didn't waste anytime. She poured everyone a shot, downed hers and then poured herself another. She lifted the shot glass and tilted her head up to drink it when she saw everyone staring at her. "What?" She asked defensively.

"Thalia stop drinking for no reason," Piper furrowed her brow, "I know," her face brightened, "let's play a drinking game."

"What do you want to play?" asked Thalia.

"We can do never have I ever?" Piper replied, "Or truth, dare or drink?" Everyone turned towards Annabeth.

"You're the birthday girl," explained Thalia, "so you have to make the decision." Annabeth thought for a moment. She didn't really want to have to explain all the things she done or hadn't done them. At least in truth, dare or drink she had the option not to do anything, drink was essentially a chicken.

"Truth, dare or drink" Annabeth decided.

"TDD it is." Thalia smiled.

 **Sorry! I know that it's short but keeping them short helps me post more often, especially since school just started.**


	14. Chapter 14

AN: I do not own any of the wonderful characters thought up by Rick Riordan. It's my first fanfiction and I would love not to get sued.

"Truth or dare?" Annabeth asked Jason.

"Dare of course," he replied.

"I dare you to…" she thought for a moment, "moon the moon" Jason rolled his eyes and quickly stood up. He completed the dare as if it was nothing.

"You really need to step up your game Annabeth," he began when he came back, "we're only going easy on you because it's your birthday."

"You're going easy on me?" Annabeth asked in slightly slurred words.

"It's true Annabeth," Thalia agreed, "You can be kind of a bummer. I mean today, you've had at least 15 dares and you've chosen to drink on almost half of them. " Annabeth looked over at Piper who nodded silently.

"I'm not a bummer!" Annabeth almost yelled.

"Shhhhh," they all shhed her in unison.

"But we love you for the bummer you are," Piper smiled, trying to move on, "you're our bummer. Now let's keep on playing."

"No!" Annabeth hissed, "not until you all promise not to go easy on me tonight. I'm turning 17 for godsakes, I can deal with it."

"Fine," Jason replied, "if you really want to."

"Yeah, I really do!" replied Annabeth in a pointed tone.

"Okay then, " Piper smiled, "Let's continue." She pointed to Jack as it was his turn to ask someone.

"Piper, truth or dare?" he asked.

"Dare"

"I dare you to go…" he leaned over to consult with Jason, "I dare you and Annabeth, to go jump in the pool."

"In your underwear" Jason added. Piper made a face at him and then turned towards Annabeth.

"So what do you say?"

"You're kidding right?" Annabeth laughed, "Nope, I'll drink." Annabeth poured herself another shot.

"I don't know if that's a good idea," Thalia tried to pry the shot glass out of Annabeth's hands.

"Why?" asked Annabeth in an annoyed tone.

"Because I've been counting and that's your eighth shot," Thalia held her hand out, waiting for Annabeth to hand her the shot glass. Annabeth squinted her eyes, trying to focus on Thalia electric blue eyes.

"Fine, I'll do it" Thalia let out a sigh of relief and lowered her hand. Annabeth took advantage of the fact that Thalia had her guard down and quickly finished the shot. She handed the empty glass to Thalia, "Okay, now I'm ready." Piper helped her get to her feet and together they walked back into the building.

"So, how was the Lux Lounge?" Piper asked as they rode the elevator to the first floor.

"Absolutely riveting," Annabeth replied sarcastically. They both laughed. "No, don't worry it was fine. The show was actually pretty interesting." her smile turned sour, "but then I saw Percy so that sucked." They were silent for a moment before Piper spoke out in disbelief.

"You saw," she spoke slowly making sure Annabeth understood every word, "Percy Jackson?" Annabeth realized what she'd let slip. She stared at Piper and pursed her lips, looking for a way out of the million questions she was soon to be pummeled with.

"Yes," Annabeth replied in barely more than a whisper. DING. The elevator doors rang. Annabeth quickly exited the elevator, Piper not following far behind.

"Why didn't you tell me? What's he like?" Piper called from behind her, "Is he as hot as he looks in his movies? Could you introduce us? Annabeth?" Piper started to get frustrated. "Annabeth!"

"What?" Annabeth snapped.

"Slow down," Piper whinned.

"Fine," replied Annabeth slowing to meet her pace. "So what's he like?"

"He's kind of an asshole," Annabeth said matter a factly.

"Really?" Piper asked, eyes wide.

"Well," Annabeth thought for a minute, "Not really, I just don't like him. He's just so smooth and arrogant and full of himself and muscular," she turned towards Piper, "but not in a gross way, in like a lean way," she clarified. "And his eyes are just too blue, and he's too, too…" They were both silent. "He just thinks he can get any girl he wants."

"Well he kinda can," Piper reasoned, "I mean he could definitely get me," she laughed.

"Trust me, you would not want to go down that road," Annabeth chuckled and rolled her eyes.

"Why?" Piper eyed her suspiciously, "Do you know something I don't?"

"No," Annabeth tried not to smile, "I just…" She thought for a moment, "you don't want to… he's not your type."

"What are you talking about?" Piper asked confused, "he's exactly my type. You just told me he was muscular, smooth, and arrogant." Annabeth was silent. "Wait!" Piper's voice was ripe with excitement. "Oh my god, do you like him?" Again, Annabeth didn't say a word. "You totally do!" She started jumping up and down, squealing.

"Shh," Annabeth quieted her, "No I don't" Piper stared at her for a few seconds.

"Oh my god, you are such a fucking liar Annabeth you definitely like him."

"Shut up," Annabeth snapped, "we're here."

Piper and Annabeth quickly stripped down to only their underwear. Their clothes lay in a pile behind them. It was nearing midnight and the pool had closed at 11pm. Annabeth took a few deep breaths, preparing herself for the cold water. She glanced behind her. On the roof of her building she could see Jason, Jack and Thalia all leaning over the side, watching them.

"Okay, let's do this quick," Annabeth whispered, feeling subconscious in Piper's revealing underwear, "before anyone catches us."

"One" Piper counted, "two, three!" They both jumped in the pool as their friends watched amazed from the roof. The minute Annabeth was underwater she was incredibly disoriented. She quickly processed what was going on and came up for air. Once on the surface she spotted Piper, who had somehow drifted to the other side of the pool.

"Piper!" Annabeth whispered loudly, "Let's go!"

"Nooo," Piper grumbled, "just one more minute." Annabeth opened her mouth to argue but she was having too much fun in the water, one more minute couldn't hurt. Annabeth took the extra time to swim some more. She felt like a mermaid, effortlessly flowing through the ocean. Annabeth ran her fingers through her hair as she felt her big loose curls from earlier come undone.

"Annabeth! Piper!" She heard someone yell. Her stomach knotted, fearing they'd been caught. Annabeth picked her head up and looked in the direction that the voice was coming. She relaxed when she saw it was just Thalia.

"What are you doing here?" asked Piper.

"You guys have been down here for like half an hour, we need to go back."

"Fine," Piper whined and they slowly slumped out of the pool. Thalia gave them both towels, pick up their clothes and hurried them back to their building.

"Shit!" Annabeth yelled as they approached.

"What?" Piper asked, suddenly super alert.

"They lock these doors from the inside at midnight, if it's been half an hour,"

"I already thought of that," Thalia smiled and pulled a key card out of her bra. She began to swipe it down the scanner, but the door wouldn't open. "What's wrong with it?!" she asked, obviously frustrated.

"You're drunk," Piper replied and took the card.

"Ha, and you're not?" Thalia scoffed.

Piper also swiped the key card several times, nevertheless the door would not unlock. Piper pouted her lips and began to tear up. She always cried when she was drunk.

"Wait!" Annabeth, her eyes widened. "Give me the card!" she demanded. Piper quickly handed it over. "This isn't the room card, its the employee card." She realized. Piper threw her head back and let out a muffled sob.

"So what?" Thalia asked frantically, "does that mean we can't get back in."

"No," Piper replied, quickly wiping her eyes, "it means we have to go through the sky bridge."

"Which means we have to enter through the main lobby," Annabeth finished for her.


	15. Chapter 15

AN: I do not own any of the wonderful characters thought up by Rick Riordan. It's my first fanfiction and I would love not to get sued.

It only took them a minute or two to realize they weren't going to be able to walk straight into the lobby. Thalia might have been able to but the staff would recognize Annabeth and Piper. And then they would interrogate them about why they were wet, drunk and in only their underwear when it was a weeknight and the pool had been closed for an hour. So Piper put to use her knowledge of sneaking in and out of the main hotel. They approached the employee only entrance by the valet parking. Thalia distracted the young manager by telling him that a car's alarm lights were flashing in the parking lot around the corner. After they were inside they had to avoid getting caught by any employees. They exited the employee only area as fast as they could and found themselves in the cushy hallways that separated high end hotel room in the east wing of the main hotel. Finally relatively safe they all burst out laughing.

"Shhh," Thalia quieted everyone down, "we still have to be careful."

"I feel like a ninja," Piper giggled.

"Okay we need to find the west wing." Annabeth disorientedly directed the group in what she believed was the right direction. After 20 minutes of walking the halls they finally reached the elevator of the west wing. They quickly got into the elevator and began going up.

"You know how to get to the sky bridge right?" Piper asked Annabeth.

"Yeah, do you not?" Annabeth replied confused.

"No" Piper replied and leaned forward to press the button for floor number 16, confusing Annabeth even more.

"You just told me you knew how to get there, it's on floor 20." Annabeth received no reply. "Piper!" DING. The elevator reached floor 16 and the doors opened. Piper pressed the close door button. She waited until the doors were half closed before pushing Annabeth out into the hallways and taking her towel.

"Piper," Thalia started yelling, "what are you doi-" the doors closed, leaving Annabeth alone in the hallway. She pushed the elevator button and waited for the next elevator. She heard people walking down the hall and started panicking. The elevators at the hotel were notoriously slow, there was no way it would get to her floor in time to avoid the guests. It was just then she realized, they might not be guests coming down the hall, after all guests weren't normally out at 1 o'clock in the morning. She quickly ducked into the nearest closet. She stayed silent and hoped they didn't need any ice.

"I guess," she heard a female voice giggle as it approached the closet.

"Do you like it?" a familiar male voice asked. Annabeth leaned forward to hear better.

"Sometimes," the female voice replied. Annabeth inched farther forward.

"What do you mean?" Just then, Annabeth realized who the voice belonged to. Percy. She quickly backed up into the shadows, hoping she wouldn't be seen. Without meaning to, she elbow the table that held an unstable platter of fruit.

"It depends how I'm-" CRASH. Annabeth froze, she'd fallen on the ground and was now staring down at the fruit surrounded her.

"What was that?" Percy asked and peeked his head into the closet. It took him a minute to process what he was looking at. Once he did, he starting laughing.

"Are you okay?" asked the young brunette Annabeth recognized from earlier. Annabeth stayed silent.

"You know what?" Percy looked at Annabeth scrawled on the floor, covered in fruit. "I would love to help you, but I actually can't bother you anymore so…" He shrugged, "sorry." He looked at the brunette with a wide grin, put his hand on the small of back and led her out the door. Annabeth could hear him whispering outside. Then she heard footsteps going the opposite direction.

"Percy!" Annabeth hissed. She heard nothing in reply, "Percy!" she repeated, a little louder this time. Still nothing. "Percy!" She almost yelled. Hearing no reply for the third time Annabeth gave up and started picking up the fruit.

"Hey," She looked up and saw Percy. He was silent for a second, taking in her body. She crossed her arms across her chest and smiled at him, letting him know she had noticed.

"So I guess you're stalking me now," she said, trying hard not to slur her words. Percy chuckled as he slid off his jacket and began unbuttoning his blue dress shirt. "What are you doing?" asked Annabeth nervously, trying to stare as he exposed his six pack. He held out the shirt.

"It's for you, put it on."

"Thanks," She said, she quickly shifted her eyes from his muscular chest. Percy pretended not to notice and bent down to clean up the fruit. Annabeth stood up and quickly slipped on the shirt. She was grateful that Percy height as the shirt fully covered her butt. She wiped her eyes, suddenly subconscious her makeup had left stains. She looked at her fingers and seeing they were clean helped Percy finish cleaning up the fruit.

"So, how'd you get here?" Percy asked motioned to the closet, "Like this?" he looked her up and down. Annabeth shrugged.

"What happened to discoball-l?" She asked, slurring the last syllable.

"I asked you first." Percy stated, placing the fruit bowl back on the table where it started. He laid back against the table and gazed at her.

"It's a little complicated." Annabeth explained.

"Okay," replied Percy, his eyes grazing her long legs. "I'll ask a simpler question," He reached out and took hold of her hands. He drew her closer and stared down at her wrist, delicately tracing her veins with his fingertips, "Why are you naked?"

"I'm not naked!" Annabeth snatched her hands away. Percy leaned back and rest his elbow on the table behind him. He looked up at her with his piercing ocean green eyes and raised his eyebrows.

"I told you it's complicateded-d," Annabeth cringed at her drunk stumbling. Percy grinned.

"So?" he finally asked after a moment of silence, "are you gonna tell me?"

"It's a long story," Annabeth giggled at his persistence. Percy smiled at her and stood up. Annabeth took a step back in surprise. Percy took a step towards her in response. She felt butterflies building in her stomach, she wanted to squash them but didn't have the sense to. She took a deep breath. He leaned towards her, his lips inline with hers.

"Will you hand me my jacket?" Percy whispered, amused

"What?" Annabeth replied, confused and slightly disoriented.

"It's behind you,"

"Yeah," Annabeth clenched her jaw. She reached her behind her, not breaking eye contact, and roughly handed Percy his jacket.

"Thanks," He smiled and put it on. "Let's go" took off towards the door.

"Where?" Annabeth ran her finger through her wet hair, annoyed at how confused she was.

"My room," Percy replied, grinning, "We'll need somewhere to sit while you tell me your 'long' story."

"Percy!" Annabeth called after him.

"C'mon!" Percy replied from the hall, "C'mon." Annabeth hesitated. Under different circumstances she wouldn't have followed him, but the alcohol had drowned out her sensible side. She peeked her head out the door to make sure the coast was clear of other employees, then ran after Percy.


	16. Chapter 16

**AN: I do not own any of the wonderful characters thought up by Rick Riordan. It's my first fanfiction and I would love not to get sued.**

"Which one?" Annabeth asked, holding Percy's key card in her hand.

"1604" he replied, admiring her round ass as she bent over to unlock the door. Annabeth swung open the door, ramming the door handle into the wall within the room.

"Shit" she laughed, impressed by her strength. She could tell the alcohol was hitting its peak. Percy stepped in front of her.

"Do you want a drink?" he asked as Annabeth examined the fresh dent in the wall. Annabeth looked up, and made her 8th bad decision of the night.

"Absolutely," She giggled, "something strong though," she added. Percy started on the drink and Annabeth took in the room. She sat on the edge of his king size bed and fell backwards, the mattress bouncing her slightly. It was so much more comfortable than the foam mattress in her room. Percy walked back into the room, fully clothed, with two drink in his hand. He sat down on the bed next to Annabeth and handed her one.

"So…" Percy asked, watching amused as Annabeth finished her drink in one gulp, "you never answered my question."

"You never answered mine." she retorted.

"Disco ball's name is Claire," Percy explained, "and I told her you were a friend who needed help."

"A friend huh?" Annabeth raised her eyebrows at him, "I don't know if I'd call us that." She poked him in the chest and then fell back onto the bed.

"Yeah, I probably shouldn't have given you that last drink." Percy laughed, taking her empty glass and setting it on the floor. Annabeth stood up from the bed and presented an offended expression.

"I am not drunk Percy Jackson," she said unconvincingly slurring the r in his name.

"Sit down," he said standing up, trying to calm her down.

"No!" He put his hand on her shoulder, making her nerves dance.

"Please?" He smiled sweetly.

"Fine." She sat back down, a little closer this time.

"So, tell me the complicated story." he took a sip of what looked to be whisky.

"So basically," Annabeth explained, "my asshole friend pushed me out of an elevator."

"Why don't you have clothes on?"

"I was swimming," Annabeth responded.

"Pool's closed"

"I'm fully aware," Annabeth laughed, "I do work here after all."

"That story wasn't very long," he raised an eyebrow, "or complicated." Annabeth shrugged.

"I shortened it." She met Percy's eyes, "What about you? How was your night?" She leaned back onto his bed, balancing her weight on her elbows.

"It was fun, except," he turned his head to face her, as she was now slightly behind him, "I met a beautiful 60's spy but she told me I had to 'stop bothering her'" he used his fingers to air quote.

"Ha!" Annabeth scoffed, "Flattery will not get you far with me." The corner of his mouth twitched. She threw her head back and stared upwards. "You haven't had any unbelievable adventures lately."

"Not quite," he replied. She gasped sarcastically.

"But how?" She examining the crown molding. "You're famous"

"Being famous," Percy shook his head, his voice taking a more serious tone "isn't as nice as it seems" Annabeth let her elbows down and fell back onto the bed.

"I know," She closed her eyes, suddenly feeling exhausted, "I would h-aaa-te to be famous" she yawned.

"Really?" She could hear the surprise in Percy's voice. "All the girls I meet, fame seems to be their ultimate wish" Annabeth chuckled.

"You've obviously been spending too much time at this hotel," She took a deep breath, eyes still shut. "Everyone here is like that, looking for fame in one way or another."

"But you're here." Annabeth slowly opened her eyes and saw Percy's lying on the bed next to her, dangerously close.

"No," she laughed humorously, "I'm not." She turned onto her side to confront Percy's confused eyes. "I'm here, but I'm not really."

"What do you mean?" whispered Percy, not daring to break eye contact.

"I'm technically here, at this location," she thought for moment, trying to put her feelings into words, "but not really. No one notices me. I'm just a waitress, a towel girl, a-" she replied in half whisper.

"I noticed you," Percy cut in a low voice, "from the first time I saw I knew you were someone special," his eyes gleamed as he moved his face closer to hers.

"I already told you," Annabeth spoke in a soft voice, her words tickling his skin, "flattery won't work"

He leaned towards her, using one hand to gently cup her face. Annabeth swallowed hard and her eyes fluttered shut. She could feel the heat radiating off of him as he brushed his lips against hers. Feeling especially bold in her inebriation she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling his hard body down onto her, completely discrediting her previous statement. Her body shuddered as he burned his kisses along her jaw, down her neck, tracing her collarbone. She wound her fingers through his soft dark hair, lightly scratching his scalp. Every nerve ending in her body was electrified as he returned his lips to hers, kissing her languidly. His tongue easily parted her lips, slipping into her mouth.

Annabeth smiled, not used to being treated so gently. She pulled away and grinned, "Percy, I'm not gonna break." Percy smiled at her amused but said nothing. She rolled her eyes playfully, using her momentum to flip them over so she was on top. She kissed him hard and ground her hips against him, eliciting a low groan from Percy. It was all the permission he needed. Percy gripped her waist and flipped her back over, propping himself up on his elbows so to not crush her under his weight.

She squealed in pleasant surprise, hooking her legs around his hips. He kissed her deeply, his velvet tongue exploring her mouth. She tasted like cinnamon and cheap vodka but he didn't mind. He pulled back, staring into her eyes for a moment. She looked so stunning with her still wet blonde hair, her flushed cheeks and puffed up lips.

For Annabeth it was a moment too long, she couldn't figure why but she found herself desperately missing his touch. She missed his taste, the way his lips felt against hers. She assumed it was standard teenage hormones and brushed off the feeling. She dug her finger into his shoulder and arched her back to meet her lips with his. She tugged on Percy's hair bringing him impossibly close. Annabeth felt Percy's grin against her mouth. Annabeth hands started at Percy's hips and slowly made their way up. She felt the hard smooth muscle under his soft skin. She basked in the feeling of his calloused hands tangled in her hair, running up and down her body. She reached for the buttons on his dress shirt, drunkenly trying to undo them.

BEEP BEEP BEEP

The both stopped startled by the sudden noise.

BEEP BEEP BEEP.

Percy started down at Annabeth, one hand still clutching her waist, the other one still in her hair.

BEEP BEEP BEEP.

"Are you gonna get that" Annabeth whispered, feeling slightly dizzy, unable to tell if it was the alcohol or Percy. Percy didn't move, didn't say a word, he just kept staring, an odd look on his face.

BEEP BEEP BEEP

"Percy!" Annabeth almost yelled, already irritated with the loud noise. Percy stole one last kiss before walking over to the minibar and picking his phone up. A wave of anxiety washed over him. He turned back to Annabeth, trying to hide it well enough.

"What?" She asked, completely oblivious.

"It's just my 2 o'clock alarm" he said, running his finger through his messy hair.

"Why do you have an alarm for two in the morning?" Annabeth asked bewildered.

"Oh…." He dipped his head down, his hair falling onto his forehead, "I have a conference call." He scowled realizing how unbelievable his lie was. He looked up at Annabeth expecting to get called out but instead was met with wide unblinking eyes.

"It's two in the morning?" She asked alarmed. She had completely lost track of time in her drunken daze.

"Yeah," Percy cocked an eyebrow as she went into panic mode pacing around the room, hastily searching for stuff she had not brought in the first place.

"I have to go." She spoke quickly, her words slurring more than usual, "My friends have been waiting for like an hour or something."

"You didn't bring anything." Percy called out as she got down on all fours to check under the bed.

"Oh," she looked surprised, "Cool." She walked towards the doorway but stopped, realizing she _had_ forgotten something. She racked her brain, trying to remember. "Oh yeah," She quickly spun around to face Percy, "Can I borrow this shirt?"

"Sure," he laughed, warmth filled Annabeth at the sound. She smiled as sweetly as she could in her unnerved state. He watched her, both amused and intrigued, as she walked out the door, slamming it behind her.


	17. Chapter 17

**AN: I do not own any of the wonderful characters thought up by Rick Riordan. It's my first fanfiction and I would love not to get sued.**

Annabeth ran out the door, the least bit worried about anyone seeing her. She looked for the west wing elevator for what felt like hours, no idea she and Percy had walked so far to get to his room. Annabeth finally the elevator. She pushed the button a few times, eager to find Piper and Thalia. She hoped since it was her birthday they would forgive her for her tardiness. _This isn't even my fault,_ she thought, _this is Piper's fault. She is afterall the one who pushed me out of the elevator._ Annabeth hoped they wouldn't ask too many questions about why she'd taken so long. Annabeth wondered if Piper knew Percy's room was on floor 16. If that was why she'd sent her to that specific floor.

"Percy," she liked the way it sounded on her lips. At his name, she was reminded of his face; his hair, his lips, his eyes. She ran a finger across her lips, mystified by the way he made her feel, perplexed by the way his touch burned a trail of fire along her skin. She could still feel the heat. _It's just because it's been so long_ , Annabeth told herself. _I guess I'll get the summer fling Piper wanted for me_. Annabeth laughed thinking about it and leaned forward to push the elevator button again. She stiffened as she heard someone down the hall. She was silent, worried she was imagining things. A few seconds of silence went by, then she heard it again, bubbly giggles followed by a squeal. She peeked her head around the corner and into the hall to see where the noise was coming from. Pushed up against a wall on the far end of the hall was a young blonde woman, a man was leaning towards her. Their lips were inches apart. Annabeth quickly looked away, not wanting to get caught staring.

DING

She was about to walk into the elevator when she heard a strangely familiar laugh. She walked back into the adjacent hall just as the blonde man turned it head towards the side.

Luke.

She stared at him for a minute, watching him run his fingers up and down her face. Annabeth smiled and turned to walk away, but the alcohol got the better of her. She tripped over her own feet causing a small thud as her hands slammed into the wall to catch herself. She froze, hoping they hadn't heard it.

"Shit," she heard someone whisper from across the hall. Annabeth considered her options.

"Classy!" she turned and yelled before taking off towards the elevator. She slid her arm into the gap between the doors just as they were about to close. Annabeth stepped into the elevator and started pressing the CLOSE DOORS button as fast as she could.

Click click click click click click click click click click.

She sighed relieved as they finally starting moving. Through the crack she could see Luke running towards her. She smiled coldly and waved her fingers at him as the doors slowly came to a close. She pressed the FLOOR 20 button and ran her finger through her ratty still damp hair. She leaned her head against the wall. Annabeth closed her eyes, trying to put Luke out of her mind by thinking about Percy again. She felt bad using him as a distraction but she knew she was nothing more than another girl to him. She couldn't stop thinking about they way his rough fingers had cupped her face so softly. She didn't realize she was smiling until the elevator interrupted her.

DING

The elevator came to abrupt stop. _Weird_ , she thought,. They were only on floor 18. She pulled at Percy shirt, trying to make herself look more presentable in case an important guest walked in. She gnawed at her bottom lip as the doors opened, worried about being reported. Her polite smile vanished as soon as she saw who it was.

"Ugh." Annabeth groaned. She fixed her eyes on Luke and glared.

"Annabeth," he panted. He had obviously run up the stairs so catch up to her, "It's not what you think." Annabeth didn't say a word. He dragged his hands down his face, trying to come up with reasonable explanation. "I was lonely okay?" He searched her face desperately for answers. The elevator doors closed behind him, trapping them together.

"I can't go on without you, I love you Annabeth." She rolled her eyes and laughed under her breath. He didn't seem to notice. "I just want you to be mine again!" She kept her eyes locked on a scratch in the metal door, right above Luke's right shoulder.

DING

The elevator reached floor 20 and its doors slowly openned. Annabeth blinked slowly and quickly exited the elevator. She heard his footsteps following her. "Annabeth!" he yelled. She kept walking, a little faster this time. "Annabeth!" Within a second he was standing in her way.

"What?" she hissed.

"Did you hear what I said?" Annabeth was silent. "I love you Annabeth! I love you." Annabeth shook her head, she felt like they'd had this fight hundreds of times. She tried to push past him but he put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her up against the nearest wall. "I know you love me too." She winced as fingers dug into her arms.

"No, I don't" She whispered. Fire blazed in Luke's eyes. He took a step away from her, still not letting go of her.

"Who's shirt is this?" He nodded towards her chest. Annabeth thought for a moment.

"My boyfriend." She closed her eyes and braced for the Luke's wrath. She opened her eyes in surprise as she heard him laugh.

"I knew it," He relieved the pressure on her arms. "You still love me," he smiled and stepped forward, "otherwise you wouldn't make up a boyfriend." he leaned in and tried to kiss her. She turned her head sideways, barely missing his lips.

"Luke!" she spoke loudly, both hands on his chest, pushing him away. "I don't love you, I have a boyfriend and I love him."  
"No," Luke's voice started out as a whisper but grew louder the angrier he got. "You don't. You love me!" he grabbed her forearm "you just told me."

"No, I didn't" She shook his arm off and began to walk away. She heard his familiar footsteps behind her. "Don't follow me!" She yelled without looking back. Once she was out of sight she starting running, as fast as she could.

By the time Annabeth reached the skybridge, Piper was already asleep on the floor. Thalia was leaning against her doors, her eyes barely open. "Hey," Annabeth greeted them, trying to catch her breath after the running for so long.

Thalia's head popped up. "Oh my gods Annabeth!" she started angrily, "Did you go to a rave or something? What the fuck took you so long?" She turned around and shook Piper awake. "Annabeth's here!" She said almost screaming. "It's 2:30! We left you at like 1:00"

"Hey Annabeth," Piper rubbed her eyes, "What took you so long?" She asked in a much less aggressive tone.

"It's complicated." Annabeth replied, her exhaustion clear in her voice.

Thalia bit her lip, "Fine, only because it's your birthday." She hugged her. Piper apparently wide awake now stared at her the way one would stare at a hard math problem.

"Who's shirt is that?" She asked, eyebrows furrowed. Thalia quickly pulled the key card out of her bra and swiped it.

"No one" Annabeth said a little too quickly. Piper and Thalia shared a look and eyed her suspiciously.

"It's obviously not no one's shirt." Piper stated as they walked across the bridge towards the employee elevators.

"I don't know," Annabeth shrugged, trying to look as believable as possible, "I found it in an employee bin on the way here."

"What bin?" Piper inquired.

"Just some random bin!" Annabeth said defensively.

"Where was this mysterious bi-"

"Stop grilling her Piper," Thalia snapped at Piper "It's her birthday, let her be."

"Where are Jason and Jack?" Annabeth asked changing the subject before Piper could protest.

"I don't know," Thalia replied, "We've been waiting for you for the last hour"

"I'm sorry," Annabeth tried to explain herself, "I just lost track of time."

"It's fine," Thalia smiled at her, obviously the only sober one of the group, "But you're birthday present is going to be a watch." She joked.


	18. Chapter 18

**AN: I do not own any of the wonderful characters thought up by Rick Riordan. It's my first fanfiction and I would love not to get sued.**

"Sorry about tonight," Annabeth said quietly, walking Jack to Jason's car. "It's not usually how my birthday goes."

"WHAT?" Jack replied sarcastically, "You mean you don't always strip down to you underwear and disappear for several hours?" Annabeth smiled, appreciating his humor.

"Well, I normally disappear for days," She played along, "completely naked."

"Wow, you live a very exciting life Annabeth," He flashed her a smile as Jason's car came into view. "I'm not sure a boring old USC student can keep up." Annabeth laughed and awkwardly kicked at a round rock. She tried to follow it but lost it among the gravel.

"Trust me, if anyone is boring it's me." Annabeth muttered. She looked up and realized Jack had disappeared. She looked behind her. Jack had stopped a few feet back. "What are you doing?" Annabeth asked, walked back towards him.

"You're not boring," Jack took a few steps towards her, filling the space between them.

"Okay," Annabeth shrugged, "Let's go." She turned and started walked away when Jack tugged on her arm, turning her around.

"Piper was right," He smiled and wrapped her up in his arm.

"What are you doing," Annabeth asked, starting to get annoyed with him.

"You are so…" he licked his lips, thinking.

"What?" Annabeth said exasperated, glancing back towards Jason's car. It was so close she swore she could see people in it.

"Ja-" She turned back to look at him but he cut her off with a kiss. She gasped, her body not daring to move. She urged herself to loosened up as he used his tongue to part her lips. She wanted so badly to string her arms around his neck, but something held her back. Some part of her begged her not to. Some part of her felt wrong. She pulled away and tilted her head up slightly to look at him. He had a wide grin on his face, she smiled trying to look like she had enjoyed their kiss. Her face must have been convincing enough as he leaned down, kissed her on the nose and pulled her into a warm hug. Annabeth furrowed her brow, her body limp in his. She had expected to feel butterflies, fireworks or even a little of warmth. She didn't feel anything, all she could remember was his fat tongue uncomfortable in her mouth. His arms crushing her. His breath hot, too hot, and tasting of cheap vodka. Finally, he let her out of his firm grip. He looked down at her as she played with the sleeves of the sweatshirt she was wearing.

"You taste like whisky."

"Okay,"

"We drank vodka"

"Mhm,"

"You smelled like cologne,"

"So do you."

"Not _that_ kind of cologne," Jack said, his lips a thin line attempting to mask his distaste.

"Okay,"

They made small talk the rest of the way to the car. Annabeth plastered a smile on her face. She couldn't wait to get rid of him. They got close enough to the car that she saw Jason. He was sitting in the driver's seat, his eyes closed, head thrown back, wearing a look she and Jack immediately recognized. She shared an awkward look. Jack slapped his hand down on the hood of the car. Piper jumped up, her eyes wide. Jason's swore, his hands moving fast. He muttered something and they both nodded. Annabeth and Jack approached the car.

"Um, I lost my phone." Piper said too quickly.

"Where was it?" Annabeth asked irritated, "Jason's lap?"

"No!" Piper yapped, "under the steering wheel," Jack pointed at the iphone sitting in cupholder. "Well I found it," She replied defensively, "C'mon Annabeth let's go." She planted a wet kiss on Jason's lips and hopped out of the car. Jason waited until she wasn't looking to wipe his lips.

"Bye, Annabeth!" Jack waved at her with hopeful eyes. She smiled and waved before following Piper. They walked silently until Jason's car was back on the highway.

"I knew you two would hit it off!" Piper squealed.

"So it was a setup," Annabeth sighed tired.

"Jeez, act a little more excited" Piper swatter her arm, "he's obviously into you."

"Yeah I know Piper," Annabeth rubbed her temples, trying to cure the headache she felt coming on.

"Did he try to kiss you?!" Piper voice became higher pitched than usual.

"Yeah, he did,"

"Oh my gods!" She hugged Annabeth with her perfectly toned arms, "I'm so happy for you!"

"I didn't say I liked it" Annabeth replied, appreciating the warmth of the hug.

"What?" Piper asked, obviously confused.

"I don't know Piper," Annabeth hadn't figured it out herself yet, "I just wasn't really feeling it."

"How? He's so hot!"

"Why don't you kiss him then Piper" Annabeth retorted.

"Fine, you weren't feeling it, I get it" Piper threw her arms up into the air above her, "but" she brought them back down and clasped her hands together, making a loud noise, "the big question of the night is still remains, who's shirt are you wearing?"

"I'm wearing a sweatshirt." Annabeth nervously avoided the question. Piper rolled her eyes. Before Annabeth realized what she was doing she reached under the sweatshirt and tugged at the corner of Percy's blue dress shirt she still had on. "It's my birthday," Annabeth gave her a pleading look. Piper smirked in response.

"Thalia's not here anymore," She held up her phone, showing her the lock screen that read: 3:24am. "Your birthday ended 3 and a half hours ago." She put the phone back in her pocket but kept her eyes glued to Annabeth. "So cut the shit, who's shirt it is?" Annabeth was silent, it was clear Piper wasn't going to let her go without some answers.


	19. Chapter 19

**AN: I do not own any of the wonderful characters thought up by Rick Riordan. It's my first fanfiction and I would love not to get sued.**

Annabeth shrugged, "It's not a big deal," Piper's eyes gleamed with excitement, "I saw Percy and he gave me his shirt." She spoke quickly and quietly, hoping Piper wouldn't understand her.

"Annabeth I literally just told you to cut the shit," Piper looked at her annoyed, "Tell me the truth." Annabeth laughed, realizing how crazy the truth sounded.

"Yep," she grinned at Piper, "I ran into Percy in the hall, he gave me his shirt, invited me back to his room and then we made out." Piper gave her a sour smile.

"Don't tell me, I'll just figure it out on my own."

"How?" Annabeth asked in an incredulous tone.

"The tag, the smell, the color, any hair fibers-" Annabeth smiled and threw her arm around Piper's shoulders, pulling her into a half hug.

"You're crazy." She beamed.

"Why are you so happy?" Piper pushed Annabeth away angrily.

"I have just had the weirdest night."

"Yeah, me too." Piper tone warmed.

"I've dug myself quite a hole." Annabeth chuckled. Piper watched her, starting to get worried.

"What?" her eyes widened, "You didn't get caught did you?"

"No, no" Annabeth shook her head, "Not by anyone important."

"Annabeth!" Piper yelled, "the suspense is killing me! Just tell me the truth"

"I just did!" Annabeth waved her arms around. Piper was silent for a moment.

"Fine, I believe you," she spoke casually, "but I wanna hear every single detail"

"Well, it's a little fuzzy but _you_ " Annabeth wagged her finger at Piper, "pushed me out of the fucking elevator in nothing and I thought I heard someone coming so I hid in the ice room. Then I heard Percy's voice and I fell and made a ton of noise so he heard me. Then he gave me his shirt and invited me back to his room. We went back to his room, had a drink and made out."

"Mhm," Piper nodded her head sarcastically, not buying it. Annabeth rolled her eyes and continued.

"Then I realized how late it was and left. I went back to the elevator and head Luke, so I popped my around the corner and saw him with some girl. I yelled at him and got back in the elevator. He ran up the stairs and caught up to me. He said the same thing he always does, that he's lonely and that he misses me and that it's not what I think, that he loves me. Anyways, I told him I had a boyfriend so he'd leave me alone. He didn't believe me and that loved him and then I found you and Thalia." Piper stared at her, her eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

"I'm choosing to believe you," she whispered slowly, "but if I find out you are lying there's gonna be hell to pay." Annabeth nodded in agreement. "So how was it?" Piper asked in calm voice.

"How was what?"

"The kiss of course,"

"It was good," Annabeth titled her head back to gaze at the stars, "better than good, amazing. Better than it ever was with Luke but obviously it's not gonna go anywhere." She turned her head to face Piper. "He being who he is and the rules being what they are."

"What are you gonna do about Luke?" She asked as they reached the front doors of the employee building, "You told him you have a boyfriend and you don't."

"I'm not sure," Annabeth replied, taking the _correct_ key card out of her sweatshirt pocket and swiping it. "But I'm way too tired to think about it right now,"

"You're right," Piper unlocked the door to their room, "We can talk about it tomorrow morning." Annabeth walked into the kitchen, quietly closing the door behind her. "Top or bottom?"

"Where is Thalia?" Annabeth asked throwing off her shoes.

"Bottom"

"Then I'll take top." Thalia had on too many occasioned pushed her off the bed.

"Ugh" Piper groaned and took off her dress. She slipped on a t-shirt and pushed Thalia until she had her back to the wall. "Night," She whispered and laid down.

"Night." Annabeth said back, pouring herself a glass of water. She set the many key cards she had collected tonight in the bowl on the counter. She pulled her sweatshirt off and took a sip. Percy's shirt was soft and she was too exhausted to change into anything else. She picked up her phone and set an alarm for 7:00am. Annabeth finished her water and set the glass face down on a paper towel. She reached under her shirt and fumbled with Piper's complicated bra. She sighed in relief as she felt the clasp come undone and the entire contraception loosen. She shimmied off one strap, then the other and left it thrown on the ground. She tiredly climbed up the ladder and collapsed into the bed.

 **I know, I know. It's short but jr year's a bitch.**


	20. Chapter 20

**AN: I do not own any of the wonderful characters thought up by Rick Riordan. It's my first fanfiction and I would love not to get sued.**

"Turn off your fucking alarm!" Annabeth woke to Thalia's voice. Annabeth groggily rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands. She sat up hitting her head on the low ceiling. She groaned and felt a bump forming on her forehead.

"Annabeth!" Piper yelled this time.

"Wha-oomf" A pillow flew through the air and hit Annabeth. She sat still, dazed. That's when she heard it.

Dibparabubpadoo Dibparabubpadoo Dibparabubpadoo

Annabeth groaned realizing it was her 7:00 alarm. She took a deep breath and climbed down the ladder. She walked over to the bathroom counter where her phone was charging and turned off the alarm. She looked at herself in the mirror and frowned, her hair looked like it had been through a tornado, her skin was red and puffy and her grey eyes were ringed with a dark shadow from her mascara. Annabeth held her hand to her head, she felt feverish and slightly nauseous, not to mention she had a killer headache. She turned on the faucet and splashed her face with some cold water. She sighed and turned the water off. She walked out of the bathroom and over to the bottom bunk where both Piper and Thalia had fallen back into a deep sleep. "Guys! C'mon!" Annabeth shook them awake.

"What?" Piper complained without opening her eyes.

"Wake up, it's seven."

"Ugh," Piper opened her eyes just a crack, "emporium starts at nine today."

Annabeth sighed realizing her mistake. She left Piper and Thalia and went back into the bathroom to take a shower. She reached past the shower curtain and turned on the hot water. Annabeth undid the buttons on the blue dress shirt that she was still wearing and let the soft fabric slide off her body. She felt bad leaving it on floor where it would most likely get wet, stepped on and much more. So she made room for it on the towel rack. Once the steam from the hot shower was fogging the corners of the mirror Annabeth hopped in, almost immediately regretting it. She squealed, using the shower curtain to escape the scalding water. As carefully as she could she reached around the steady stream of burning water and turned on the cold water as well. Annabeth sighed as the lukewarm water cooled the parts of her legs that had been boiled.

It was half past seven when Annabeth finally finished her shower. She wrapped a towel around her body and a smaller one around her head and walked out of the bathroom. Thalia and Piper were still in bed, both their mouths slightly ajar.

"It's late, Thalia you need to leave." Annabeth said loudly, changing into her work clothes.

"Mhhh" Thalia's words were muffled by her pillow.

"Thalia if anyone sees your car we're gonna be in big trouble." Annabeth received nothing but a slight snore from Piper as a response. "Thalia! Get up!" Annabeth wacked her in the head with a pillow. With that, Thalia half heartedly rolled herself over Piper and off the bed. She stood up and eyed Annabeth crankily.

"You're a little happy for someone with a hangover" She said and pulled her dark hair into a short ponytail. Annabeth didn't reply, instead she walked over to the kitchen counter and grabbed some ibuprofen from the drawer. She poured herself and glass of water and quickly swallowed two pills. Annabeth helped Thalia gather her stuff and walked her out to her car, leaving Piper alone in the room. When Annabeth returned Piper had her back turned to her and was jumping up and down.

"Are you okay?" Annabeth asked raising an eyebrow. Piper squealed and turned around, she was clutching Percy's shirt across her chest;

"I thought you were lying," Piper spoke quickly, "I didn't believe you. Then you left the shirt in the bathroom and I thought why not. So I checked the tag and its Ralph Lauren!"

"Okay," Annabeth spoke cautiously trying to pull the shirt out of Piper's tight grip.

"So I thought, who would own Ralph Lauren? Luke is douchey enough that he would but he'd never let you borrow it, especially if you were soaking wet. So either you did get that shirt from a bin or you were telling the truth about Percy. Then I remembered that last night you yelled at me.

"Yeah," Annabeth scratched her head guiltily, "I just-"

"No!" Piper cut her off, "That's not what's important. I could care less that you yelled at me. Last night you yelled at me and your breath smelled like whisky, the drink I read was Percy's favorite in a interview with People magazine." Annabeth nodded, unsure how to respond. "So you were telling me the truth! You made out with Percy Jackson,"

"Piper give me the shirt," Annabeth tugged at it, "you need to shower"

"I'll shower when you admit it," Piper challenged.

"Admit what?!"  
"That you and Percy kissed,"

"Piper I already admitted to it last night," Annabeth replied exasperated

"I know but now that I know it's the truth I want you to say it again." Piper held on tight to the shirt.

"Oh my gods Piper, fine, Percy and I kissed last night," She smiled sassily, "Happy?"

"Yes," Piper let go of the shirt and skipped into the bathroom. Annabeth fell back onto the bed.


	21. Chapter 21

**AN: I do not own any of the wonderful characters thought up by Rick Riordan. It's my first fanfiction and I would love not to get sued.**

Annabeth was trying hard to stay awake, but she was fighting a losing battle. The emporium's heat enveloped her like the warmest blanket imaginable. She felt too tired to keep standing so she sat down on a stool by the counter. Annabeth balanced her chin on her fist. Her eyelids felt so heavy. She felt herself doze off. Then, her chin slid off her fist, jolting her awake. Annabeth repositioned herself, letting her eyes fall shut again. She was about to close her eyes to continue her nap when she heard someone clear their throat. She opened her eyes wide, realizing where she was. She silently scolded herself for falling asleep on the job. She raised her head and put on a polite smile.

"Long night?"

"You couldn't imagine," Annabeth's smile wavering as she saw Percy in front of her. He smiled, making Annabeth feel warm all over. She shook off the feeling.

"Thanks for lending me your shirt." Annabeth whispered so no one would hear, "I would have brought it with me today but I didn't know I would see you." Percy nodded looking down at his feet.

"I think I can fix that," Percy lifted his eyes to meet hers.

"Fix what?" Annabeth asked, working hard to murder the butterflies in her stomach as he leaned forwards across the counter.

"You not knowing when you'll see me," Percy raised his eyebrows at her, "Go out with me tonight,"

"Percy.." Annabeth started.

"That way you can give me back my shirt," Percy continued ignoring her, "And I can get to know you," he paused, "sober." Annabeth shot him a look. Percy chuckled, "So what do you say?"  
"I can't I have to work,"

"When do you get off?"

"It doesn't matter I can't date guests,"

"We're not dating." Percy pointed out

"You just asked me out,"

"Yeah on a friend date,"

"Friends don't kiss," Annabeth lowered her voice. Percy opened his mouth to respond but was beat by a booming voice behind him.

"So Annie," Luke walked into the emporium and stood behind Percy.

"Don't call me that" Annabeth muttered.

"Is this your beloved boyfriend?" Annabeth froze.

"Uh h-he's," Annabeth stuttered.

"Yes," Percy cut in before Annabeth could embarrass herself, "Hi," he held out his hand. Luke shot Annabeth a dirty look and begrudgingly shook Percy's hand. "I'm Percy, it's nice to meet you" he held out the 'u' until Luke cut in.

"Luke," he snapped,"I'm sure Annabeth has mentioned me." Percy turned back to look at Annabeth.

"Umm, I don't think so," Percy furrowed his eyebrows looking genuinely confused. Luke looked at Annabeth, a much less experienced actress than Percy and saw her surprised expression. His face calmed.

"So you two are dating?" he directed his comment at Annabeth.

"Mhm,"

"I don't believe you," he hissed, leaning across the counter towards her. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"It's true," She spoke softly.

"Prove it," They were both silent, glaring at each other across the counter before Annabeth straightened up. She was about to argue when Percy walked over to her, cupped her face and gave her light kiss. It only lasted a second or two but when he pulled away Annabeth was dizzy, disoriented, her limbs felt like noodles. He must have noticed because he kept one arm wrapped around Annabeth's waist, stabilizing her. She stared at Percy. Their eyes met and his gaze shifted to Luke who was muttering something under his breath. Annabeth didn't notice. Percy looked back down at her, a mischievous look in his eyes. Her heart swelled. She flung her arms around his neck, pulling him close, crashing her lips onto his. Percy rocked back on his heels surprised. His arms surrounded her, and his hands flattened on her back, pulling her body again his. Her lips parted deepening the kiss. Annabeth could hear Luke saying something but wasn't lucid enough to comprehend it. She felt Percy smile against her lips. Annabeth felt warmth overcome her as his-

BZZ BZZ BZZ

-his-

BZZ BZZ BZZ

Annabeth felt something vibrating in her pocket. She pulled herself away from Percy and answered the phone. She swallowed hard, "Hello?" She said between shallow breaths.

"AHHHHH" Piper screamed. Annabeth pulled the phone off her ear, sure her eardrum had been shattered "I JUST SAW YOU KISSING PERCY JACKSON!"

"Can I call you back?" Annabeth said, keeping the phone a safe distance away from her ear.

"Fine," Piper huffed and hung up the phone. Annabeth took a deep breath and could feel Percy smiling.

"You shouldn't have done that," Annabeth didn't dare to meet his eyes.

"Done what?" Percy laughed, "Saved you from that guy or let you kiss me?" Annabeth rolled her eyes, _he had kissed her_.

"Both," She sighed, staring down at her feet.

"What time do you get off?" Percy asked. Annabeth finally looked up at him and was met with a wide grin.

"What?"

"We're dating now," He smile only grew wider showing off his dazzling white teeth, "So what time do you get off?"

"Late," Annabeth crossed her arms, not willing to accept defeat.

"Lucky for you," he flashed her a charming smile, "I eat late,"


	22. Chapter 22

AN: I do not own any of the wonderful characters thought up by Rick Riordan. It's my first fanfiction and I would love not to get sued.

"You said late, it's late,"

"Percy" her gaze softened with exhaustion, "It's really late."

"Exactly," Percy replied leaning against the doorframe. Annabeth was about to make up an excuse when Piper stuck her head out of the bathroom.

"Is that Percy?" She whispered as loudly as possible.

"Yeah,"

"Oh my gods even his voice is hot," Percy grinned at the compliment. Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"Percy I can't, I have to work early tomorrow morn-" Piper slammed the door in Percy's face. Annabeth turned towards her, an alarmed expression coloring her face. "Piper what are you doing?!"

"Annabeth you don't like Luke, you don't like Jack, you told me you like Percy, so you're going out with Percy." She stated as if it were a well known fact.

"No, I'm not!" Annabeth protested in a heated whisper so he wouldn't hear her through the thin door. Piper opened the door and crack and stuck her head out.

"What should she wear?"

"Piper!" Annabeth punched her in the arm but Piper ignored it.

"Shorts?" Percy suggested shrugging.

Ooo he wants to see your legs, Piper mouthed to Annabeth. She turned back to Percy, "Okay, she'll be out in… " She paused and inspected Annabeth.

"I'm not putting makeup on," Annabeth hissed.

"Five minutes," She smiled and closed the door leaving Percy to wait in the hall. "Well, you heard him," Piper waved her arms up in the air, "Shorts,"

"I'm wearing shorts," Annabeth said coldly, motioning to her blue pajama shorts.

"Please put on real shorts," Piper pleaded. "For me, for Percy."

"Fine," Annabeth huffed, "for you." She slipped off her pajamas and quickly put on a pair of jean shorts. "Bye," She said as she tucked her large t-shirt into her shorts.

"Have fun," Piper's eyes were gleaming with a scary amount of excitement. Annabeth put her sandals on, grabbed a key card and joined Percy in the hall.

"So, where are we going?" Annabeth asked once they were out of the building.

"It's a surprise," Percy replied and kept walking.

"I didn't bring a bathing suit," Annabeth objected as she realized they were heading towards the beach.

"Neither did I." Percy smiled.

"What's in your backpack?" Inquired Annabeth suspiciously.

"I don't know, what is in my backpack?" he wiggled his eyebrows at her mysteriously.

"You're not going to tell me anything?"

"Mhm," Percy nodded. They reached the beach and Percy discreetly pulled a blanket out of his backpack. He laid it out on the sand, "Ladies first," he motioned for Annabeth to take seat. She sat on the far side of the plaid picnic, facing the ocean. He sat down next to her and emptied the backpack's contents at his feet.

"So a picnic?" Annabeth eyed the food hungrily.

"Have you eaten?" He asked pulling the food into one big pile.

"I was about to order pizza," Annabeth explained, "then you showed up." She picked up a poppy muffin and began to unwrap it from the saran wrap. She eagerly took a bite. Percy chuckled and picked up a bottle of water.

He turned towards her, took a sip and then asked, "How was your day." Annabeth put up a finger and swallowed a mouthful of muffin.

"Good, yours?"

"It was good." They both sat in silence for a moment before Annabeth asked.

"Why are you here?" Percy raised a confused eyebrow.

"Excuse me?"

"Why are you at this hotel?"  
"Ohh," he chuckled, "I'm filming a movie on the beach."

"What's the movie about?" Annabeth took another bite of muffin.

"It's a romantic comedy." He inched his fingers closer to Annabeth's.

"About?" She asked refusing to acknowledge the way her nerve ending danced at his touch.

"A boy and a girl meet in a bar," Annabeth nodded and continued chewing, it sounded normal so far. "They don't like each other at first but then she gets really drunk, goes swimming naked and then kisses him." Annabeth lightly hit his arm, muffin still in her hand.

"I was not naked!"

"You didn't let me finish," Percy put a finger to her lips, sending heat waves through Annabeth's body. She ignored the feeling and stayed silent. "The girl is super into him but she's playing hard to get. The guy, played by me, uses his impeccable charm and handsome smile to convince her go out with him."

"You're funny." Annabeth smiled sarcastically, "What's the movie actually about?"  
"I just told you." He said with an amused smile.

"I can't wait to see it," Annabeth replied playfully, "I actually have a movie coming out myself. It's about a creepy actor who won't leave a hotel employee alone, even though she is clearly disinterested." Percy thought for a moment. He leaned in, his hot breath causing a pleasurable prickling sensation on her neck.

"Didn't seem that way earlier." He whispered with a devilish smirk.

"Didn't seem what way?" Annabeth replied softly, not wanting to ruin the intimacy of the moment.

"You didn't seem disinterested when you kissed me this morning," Her eyes darted to his lips and her pulse quickened.

"I'm a surprisingly good actress" Annabeth replied, Percy dipped his head, nuzzled the curve of her neck. She shuttered as she felt his lips on her skin. "Percy," she bit her lip, "I thought this was a friend date,"

"It is," Percy muttered, his lips reaching her collar bone.

"This isn't what friends do." Annabeth replied trying to overlook the desire to run her fingers through his hair, to pull his lips to hers.

"It isn't?" Percy pulling away, pretending to be alarmed.

"No," Annabeth felt suddenly cold without his body near hers.

"Well shit Annabeth," his eyes comically wide, "I've been kissing my friends for years." Annabeth tried not to smile but could feel her eyes giving her away. She stared down at her hands which were tugging at her t-shirt. "Fine," He grinned, "friends."

"Just friends?" Annabeth asked dubiously.

"Just friends," he leaned back on his elbows and stared up at the dark night sky, "Who are fake dating." He added after a second of silence. Annabeth turned her head, attempting to meet his gaze but his eyes were lost in the stars.

"So, as a friend," Annabeth imitated his pose, turning her eyes to the sky. "What's your movie about?"

"It's the average mermaid romcom" Percy explained. Annabeth's eyebrows furrowed into an expression of bewilderment. She had no idea there was such thing as an average mermaid romcom. "But with a twist." he continued, "Instead of a mermaid, there's a merman." Annabeth whipped her head to face Percy, gray eyes full of delight.

"You play a merman?" She grinned.

"Yep," he already knew what question was coming next.

"Do you wear a tail?" Annabeth said giggling.

"Oh yeah," Percy turned to face her. "It's long, green and it sparkles." Annabeth broke out laughing. "Laugh it up," Percy shook his head as if he'd gotten the same reaction hundred of times before, "but it's a five movie deal."

"I'm sorry," she managed between fits of laughter, "but the image is just so funny. You being so big, hot, masculine with a tail, looking like Ariel" They both laughed and made merman jokes until their stomachs hurt. Then they just sat there in comfortable silence, staring up at the stars.

"Hey," Percy cocked an eyebrow, turning only his head to face her "you called me hot. You do that with all your friends?"

"Only the hot ones" Annabeth reassured him, flipping onto her side to face him.

"You think I'm hot" he nodded with a slight smile before turning his head to face the stars again, "good to know."

"Oh please Percy," Annabeth rolled her eyes, "Every woman in America thinks you're hot."

"According to who?"

"Magazines" She shrugged.

"You read about me in magazines?" Percy threw her a cocky smile.

"As if Percy," She reached out across the empty space between them and swatted at his arm. He caught her hand and trapped it against his chest. "Piper reads them." Annabeth said trying to shake it off, but his grip was strong.

"So, I'm sure you heard some of the crazy rumors about me then?" He raised his eyebrows, pulling her in closer. Annabeth didn't protest. She was cold and even at a distance she could feel his warmth.

"Mhm," Annabeth smiled cautiously. She leaned forward and whispered "I heard that you only shower in bottled water."

"Interesting,"

"I also heard you collect forks."

"Wow," Percy blinked, "those are very sexy rumors, no wonder all the women find me irresistible" He gave a Annabeth a smug smile, a single dimple appearing next to his mouth.

"You're awfully cocky" She raised an eyebrow, looking him up and down, "And you don't even look that good." His smile widened, a second dimple appearing.

"Are you sure you can resist such a sexy man." he whispered in a seductive voice. She looked up at him through her thick eyelashes, the moon reflected in her eyes.

"Depends what sexy means." Annabeth pushed him away slightly, not wanting to give him the wrong idea. Percy thought for a moment.

"Sells… Eleven hundred… Xylophones… Yearly."

"Wow!" Annabeth could help but smile, "eleven hundred, that's impressive." Annabeth sighed, looking disappointed, "But unfortunately I only date guys who sell eleven thousand xylophones a year."

"Damn it," Percy snapped his fingers, "I knew I should have majored in xylophones. If I had I could be so much sexier."

"Sorry," she shrugged, "rules are rules." She felt her phone vibrate in her back pocket and reached for it, but before she could grab it she heard Percy.

"Wait!" he said in a loud whisper, startling Annabeth as she was so close to him, he put his hands on her shoulder and looked down at her. "What I told you the rumors were true? I do collect forks."

"Depends how many forks do you have?"

"Eleven thousand" he grinned.

"Wow, Percy" She matched his expression, "I think you've got yourself a wife." Annabeth ignored the fuzzy feeling inside when he laughed. She grabbed her phone and saw a text from Luke.

Annabeth. Where are you? Piper said you were sleeping but you never sleep this early!

Annabeth rolled her eyes and tucked the phone back into the back of her shorts. She turned her eyes back at Percy. "Annabeth Chase, look at us, a couple of forks." he winked. Annabeth jaw dropped at the pun. He grinned even wider, making her feel warm inside. Annabeth looked up at Percy, a pun on the tip of her tongue when a young couple interrupted her thoughts.

"Hi," greeted the young bleach blonde who had her arm hooked around a very bored looking companion "do you know where I can find the-WAIT." Her eyes widened, "Are you Percy Jackson?!" She spoke in an excited whisper.

"Yes," Percy answered slowly sitting up. Annabeth slipped out of his arms.

"Oh my god!" The girl let go of her boyfriend's arm and ran forwards. She threw herself at Percy, her hands landing around his neck. He staggered back before regaining his balance,"Will you give me your signature?" the girl asked breathlessly. Annabeth stared, telling herself the pinch she felt in her gut was annoyance, not jealousy. Percy saw Annabeth rolling her eyes and tried not to laugh, it was a gesture that seemed so familiar, even after spending only a few evenings with her.

"Sorry babe, I don't have a pen," Percy replied in a soft flirtatious tone.

"Oh," the girl looked confused. She wore a slightly stunned expression. She turned to her boyfriend who'd she'd left standing behind her. "Do you have a pen?" She asked him.

"No!" He fumed. She turned to Annabeth, who quickly shook her head. The girl looked like she might cry. Percy obviously noticed because he leaned forwards and whispered something in her ear. She nodded at Percy and let go of him.

"Karolina," she spoke so quietly Annabeth could barely hear her, "Karolina Waters" With that she turned around, took her boyfriend by the arm and dragged them both away. Once she was gone Percy started to pack up the food and the blanket. Annabeth stared at him in amazement.

"What did you say to her?" She asked. He smiled at her bewildered expression.

"I told her I collect forks." he shrugged, "some girls just can't handle that degree of manliness" Annabeth stared at him, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.

"You're unbelievable." She shook her head to hide her smile, then bent down to help Percy clean up.


	23. Chapter 23

**AN: I do not own any of the wonderful characters thought up by Rick Riordan. It's my first fanfiction and I would love not to get sued.**

"Pleaseee" Piper pleaded

"No," Annabeth replied, neatly folding a shirt and placing it back on the shelf.

"Whyy?" She pouted back.

"Because I'm not in the mood," Annabeth explained and moved on to rearrange the snowglobes by the entrance of the Emporium, "besides I get done at like ten tonight."

"So what?" Piper said frustrated, "you went out at eleven yesterday and were out until three the night before that."

"Exactly," Annabeth faced Piper, "So you understand why I need a night in."

"No one ever needs a night in,"

"Just one night Piper, to relax."

"You can relax on the dance floor!" Piper yelled getting the attention of their supervisor.

"Piper!" Annabeth whispered angrily.

"I'm gonna stay here until you say yes," Piper crossed her arms and tapped her foot.

"You'll get us both in trouble!" Annabeth said as their supervisor made her way over to them.

"I'm not going anywhere."

"Fine," Annabeth gave in, "not tonight though, let's just go tomorrow."

"I can't I'm spending the day with Jason."

"Let's talk about this later," Annabeth started fidgeting with the products on the shelves, making it look like she was doing work.

"Agree to tonight or I'm not moving." Piper held her ground.

"Ugh" Annabeth groaned and rolled her eyes exasperated, "Okay!" She quickly changed the conversation to something work related as the supervisor approached them. "Absolutely," She spoke loudly enough for their supervisor, Shirley, to hear, "you should definitely go to the back room and restock the post cards because we're running low."

"Thanks," Piper smiled sweetly, pleased with herself and walked off in the other direction.

"What was that about?" Asked Shirley in a flat tone.

"She asked me if we needed anything restocked." Annabeth answered innocently. Shirley laughed but there wasn't a trace of humor in her eyes.

"You girls are real funny," she snapped, "I don't want to see you wasting company time talking I wanna see you selling. If I catch you two talking about 'postcards' again I'm gonna ask you two be separated in the future." She took a step closer to Annabeth, "Are we clear?"

"Yes ma'am" Annabeth replied in a stiff tone. Shirley stared at her for a second and then walked away, her heels clicking behind her. Annabeth took a deep breath and relaxed her posture. She waited until Shirley was out of sight and then picked up her phone. 11:00am. She sighed, only an hour left. Annabeth positioned herself next to the front doors of the Emporium, greeting people politely as they entered. She was talking to a exhausted looking mom about sunscreen when she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Percy. He was wearing a white t-shirt and a pair of khaki shorts. He was watching her, leaning against one of the palm trees that stood outside the store. Their eyes met and a smile tugged at her lips. Annabeth pointed the mother in the direction of the children's sunscreen and walked over. She kept her eyes on his face, ignoring the way his shirt showed off his muscular build.

"Hey," he said raising his eyebrows playfully, "You look great," he tried to pull her into a hug but Annabeth put a hand on his chest, trying to maintain a safe distance.

"What do you want?" She asked. She smiled sweetly trying to make up for her sour tone.

"Wow," Percy laughed, "I must be a pretty nice guy to put up with you." Annabeth didn't respond. "I wanted to know what you were doing today?"

"Working," Annabeth replied pointing to her nametag, "duh"

"Later?"

"Sleeping,"

"You live a very exciting life Annabeth Chase." He noticed her stiffen. "What?" he whispered.

"Luke." She said under her breath, looking at something just over his shoulder.

"Annabeth," She shifted her eyes to meet his. "Just keep your eyes on me." Annabeth nodded slightly. "Smile," Annabeth tried to smile but it didn't reach her eyes, "Annabeth, c'mon at least try to look happy." Annabeth's expression didn't change. Percy leaned forward chuckling and pushed her hair back. "Annie…" he whispered softly into her ear.

"Don't call me that," She murmured

"Have you ever eaten a crayon?" His breath on her neck made her nervous.

"What?" Annabeth asked incredulously, her attention momentarily off Luke.

"You heard me," Percy put his hands on her hips, holding her in place as he smiled into the crook of her neck. "Have you ever eaten a crayon?" he repeated.

"Um, probably," Annabeth smiled slightly.

"What color?" Percy asked, an amused smirk as he felt Annabeth twitch at the brush of his lips.

"I don't know." Annabeth laughed.

"I bet it was perriwinkle." he breathed, "or scarlet"

"Why?"

"You seem like that kinda girl." Percy chuckled against her soft skin.

"Those are two very-" A sudden swoosh of movement made Annabeth suddenly aware of Luke walking towards them. "Percy!" Annabeth hissed, "he's coming over here!"

"Act like you don't even notice."

"We already made eye contact" Percy thought for a minute.

"Okay." he finally said, pulling back. He looped a strong arm around Annabeth's back and turned to face Luke. To Annabeth's surprise Luke didn't say a word, just shot her a dirty look and kept walking. Annabeth let out a sigh of relief. She turned to Percy and placed her hands on his hard chest.

"Thank you" She smiled, but there a glint of sadness in her eyes. Percy noticed and pulled her into a tight hug, this time she didn't object. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths, comforted by his powerful arms. He smelled like a mix of expensive shampoo and sea salt.

"Ahem," Someone behind them cleared their throat. Annabeth took one last long exhale and turned around. She was alarmed to see Shirley standing behind them with her arms crossed. "Annabeth, please get back to work." She snarled. Annabeth nodded and kept her head down as she walked past Shirley back into the store. Once she was out of her line of sight Annabeth stopped to listen to Shirley and Percy's conversation. "Percy Jackson, I heard you were trouble." She wore an unnatural looking smile. "Please don't distract my employees, they're not used to the attention and are easily sidetracked."

"Shirley," Percy said reading her nametag, "You must do a great job running this store because that young lady would not give into my incessant flirting."

"Really?" Shirley asked suspiciously.

"Absolutely," Percy put a hand on her shoulder, "you run a tight ship."

"I guess I do," Shirley replied, obviously distracted by his touch.

"Well, just know," Percy made eye contact with Annabeth deep in the store. "That employee of yours is very dedicated to her job,"

"Mhm," Answered Shirley looking up at him dreamily.

"Anyone else would have swooned at my touch." He grinned.

'Yes," Shirley said as if she were hypnotized, "I'll make she's rewarded for her hard work."

"Thanks Shirley," Percy gave her a charming smile and a wink. He took a step back and picked his cell phone up out of his back pocket. Shirley stared stupefied before hurrying back into the store. _You're welcome_ , Percy mouthed before walking away, phone to his ear.


	24. Chapter 24

**AN: I do not own any of the wonderful characters thought up by Rick Riordan. It's my first fanfiction and I would love not to get sued.**

"Just hop out for a second." Annabeth said, pounding on the bathroom door.

"I'm gonna get everything wet!" Piper yelled through the noise of the shower.

"Piper I'm gonna be late!" Annabeth heard Piper give an exaggerated sigh and turn off the water.

"Fine," after a minute Piper's opened the bathroom door, completely naked. Annabeth didn't flinch, used to it after spending so much time together "Why was it in the bathroom in the first place?" She asked holding Annabeth's phone out to her with her soaking wet hand.

"I don't know," replied Annabeth. She wiped the phone on her dress and clicked the home button. 1:24. "Fuck!" She cussed, stuffing it into her bag and running out the door. To her surprise she was only a minute or two late to the Lux Lounge. "Hey," She greeted Jorge out of breath. She quickly took off her jacket and put her bag down behind the bar. She smoothed her hair and walked over to her supervisor Hannah. "Hi, sorry I'm late, what can I help with?"

Hannah turned towards her, eyes wide and full of relief "Thank gods you're here!" She pulled Annabeth into a quick hug and continued, "Ella has food poisoning. So we are a man down. You are going to have to work one of her booths."

"Okay," Annabeth nodded, "That's fine"

"For now I just need you to go backstage and make sure the dancers have everything they need." Hannah pointed her to the doors left of the stage, gave her a guilty looking smile and walked away. Annabeth shook off the feeling that she was hiding something and went backstage to help the dancers.

She was helping one of the dancers, Jill, with her loose strap when she asked, "Annabeth are you sure you can dance in those shoes?"

"What?" Annabeth asked confused, holding a safety pin in her mouth.

"Can you dance in those-OW!" Jill screamed as Annabeth pricked her skin.

"Sorry," Annabeth gave her an apologetic smile and finished pinning her strap together. She stood up once she was done, "why would I need to dance?" She laughed.

"Hmm?" Jill asked, admiring herself in the mirror.

"You just asked if I could dance in these shoes. Why would I need to dance? I'm a waitress."

"Ohh, because El-" just as she was about to answer she was pulled away by Hannah.

"The show is about to start!" She said frantic, "Annabeth go to the bar!" Annabeth began walking away but turned her head back at the last minute.

"Am I gonna have to dance tonight?" She eyed Hannah suspiciously.

"Tonight's very complicated Annabeth, I just need you to go with it." Annabeth wanted to ask more questions but Hannah's eyes pleaded her to drop it. Annabeth's entire body sighed as she turned back around and walked out onto the stage. She was about to jump the four feet from the stage to the floor when she heard a familiar voice.

"Need a hand?" The raven haired boy in front of her held out a hand.

"Sure," She smiled and took it. "What are you doing here?" She asked after he had helped her down.

"I'm here to watch the show" Percy answered, fidgeting with the sleeves of his suit. Annabeth gave him a pointed look.

"You've already seen it."

"What can I say?" Percy looked her up and down, "I've got a thing for spies." He shrugged.

"Okay," She chuckled, "well I'm going to be over there." Annabeth pointed to the bar, "If you need a drink come find me."

"Okay," Percy replied his eyes searching for someone over her shoulder.

"What?" Annabeth turned around to see what he was looking at.

"Is Luke here?"

"No," Annabeth whipped her head back around, "Why?"

"I brought a…" he paused running his finger through his already swept back hair.

"Date?" Annabeth finished for him, surprised by how sour the word tasted in her mouth.

"Kinda," Percy watched her cautiously.

"It's fine," Annabeth tried to brush it off, "We're not actually dating. What's her name?"

"It's Claire," He didn't take his eyes of Annabeth for even a millisecond, trying to read under her hard smile. "you met her the other night."

"Yeah I-" The lights in the theater dimmed. "Oh I have to go," Annabeth took off towards the bar before Percy could reply. When she reached the bar, Jorge immediately began spouting orders.

"Britney booths A, B and C." his eyes shifted to Annabeth, "Annabeth D, E and F."

"Annabeth picked a notebook up off the counter and walked towards the booths." She froze and she realized Percy and Claire were seating in booth D. "Uhh, Britney?" Annabeth shouted over the noise of the show starting.

"What?" Britney yelled back, hiking her skirt up to show off her long legs.

"Will you switch booth's with me?" Annabeth smiled, trying to look as innocent as possible.

"Why?" Britney asked suspiciously.

"Percy Jackson is in booth D, he's soo hot." Britney's eyes lit up. She stood on her tiptoes and looked in the director of booth D. As she spotted him her expression turned unexpectedly bitter.

"He's sitting with Claire Allebach though, and rumors are true, she was super rude to me last time." Annabeth gave her a confused look. "Ugh," Britney rolled her eyes and groaned, "No" She said loudly and walked away. Annabeth took a few deep breaths and bravely strode towards booth D. She was halfway there when she suddenly turned, deciding she'd start at booth F.


	25. Chapter 25

**AN: I do not own any of the wonderful characters thought up by Rick Riordan. It's my first fanfiction and I would love not to get sued.**

"Hi, what can I get you guys?" Annabeth could feel Percy watching her from across the auditorium. She pretended not to notice and kept her nose in her notepad as she scribbled down drink orders. "Okay," She smiled at booth E, "I'll have those drinks out in a minute. If you need anything else come find me at the bar." She kept her head down the rest of the route back the bar. She ripped the pages from her notebook and handed them to Jorge.

"There are only two here," he commented in a helpful voice and separated them so Annabeth could see.

"Oh," Annabeth faked surprise, "I didn't even notice." She quickly adjusted her skirt and swiped under her eyes for runaway mascara. She pursed her lips and walked down the aisle towards Percy's booth. As she got closer she saw Percy had an arm wrapped around Claire affectionately. She had her face snuggled into Percy's shoulder. Annabeth waited for Percy to notice her but he didn't. She scrunched up her nose, a dark smile crossing her face. She laughed silently remembering Percy's claim that he and Claire were 'just friends.' She wiped the grim expression off her face and replaced it with a smug smile. "What can I get you guys?" She asked, a little louder than she needed to. Percy faced Annabeth calmly at the sound of her voice.

"Hey," He spoke, uneasiness hidden behind his eyes.

"That's not a drink," Annabeth shook her head slightly.

"Can I get a cosmo?" Annabeth eyes shifted to Claire. "And, what do you want babe?" Her icy blue eyes brightened by the dark black eyeliner that surrounded them. Percy didn't reply. She flipped her straight brown hair over her shoulder and placed a perfectly manicured hand on Percy's chest. "Honey what do you want?" She repeated. She was still smiling but her tone had a cold edge to it this time.

"Whiskey," Percy couldn't stop staring at Annabeth, "on the rocks."

"The drinks will be out in a minute," Annabeth turned swiftly and felt her loose princess curls whip through the air behind her. She strode away, trying to look as confident as possible. She gave their order to Jorge and took the other drinks to booths E and F. By the time she was done, so were Percy's drinks. She placed their drinks on a metal tray and walked down the aisle as she balanced it on her forearm. "Here's your cosmo," Annabeth said, placing the drink on a coaster in front of Claire. Annabeth was about to give Percy his drink when Claire decided to complain.

"This isn't a cosmo,"

"I'm pretty sure it is." replied Annabeth, working hard not to be rude.

"No, cosmo's are pink, this is orange." Claire said closely examining the drink in front of her.

"I think it's just the lighting" Annabeth smiled.

"I don't know what scam you're running here," Claire let go of Percy and leaned towards Annabeth, "but my boyfriend and I won't be drinking any watered down cheap orange cosmos." Annabeth took a deep breath and cocked an eyebrow at Percy, as if to say, _really?_ "Right Percy?" She turned to Percy for support after Annabeth didn't immediately apologize and take the drink back. Percy stared down at his drink. Annabeth groaned quiet enough that they wouldn't hear her over the sound of the show.

"I'm sorry," Annabeth picked the drink back up, "there must have been a mistake." She didn't bother putting the drink on her tray. She held it in her hand and resisted the urge to scream as she stormed back to the bar, the cosmo tipping slightly with each step, spilling onto her hand. "Jorge," Annabeth fumed setting the now half empty glass onto the bar. "This cosmo was apparently too orange so," Annabeth's tone softened as she saw Jorge's alarmed eyes. She continued, realizing she was blaming him for something that wasn't his fault. "Please just put some dye in it or something. Just make it more pink." She turned to face the show and leaned back on the bar as Jorge got to work. Annabeth watched the show to calm down. Annabeth heard the sound of a glass scrape the bar. She turned around and placed the artificially pink drink on her tray. She carried it back over to Percy's booth. He eyed her cautiously as she approached. Annabeth ignored him and faced Claire. She handed her the drink with a composed smile. Claire took the drink, examining it suspiciously.

"This looks a little too pink…" Annabeth kept smiling.

"That's what you asked for."

"Yeah but-" Percy cut her off by whispering something into her ear. She sighed, "this will be fine thanks." Claire forced an expression that looked more like a snarl than a smile. Annabeth was about to turn around when Claire spoke again. "Also, it's kinda chilly in here," she said rubbing her arms up and down, "Could you turn up the heat?" Annabeth just stared at her for a moment, trying to figure out if she was serious.

"I'll see what I can do." Annabeth replied with an eyebrow raised. She turned around the walked back to the bar. She sat down on a stool, not eager to check on booth's E and F. She watched Percy and Claire. Annabeth decided that, objectively, they looked like a perfect couple. _Claire Allebach_ , Annabeth remembered Britney had said to her. She reached behind the bar and grabbed her phone, pretending like she needed to go to the bathroom. Once she was alone in a stall she starting searching Claire Allebach. There were thousands of results. Annabeth scanned the wikipedia summary on her. She was an actress from LA, her dad was a famous director, she was starring in the new movie _Something Fintastic_ , rumoured to be dating actor Percy Jackson, starr- Annabeth did a double take, or rather a double read. Rumored to be dating actor Percy Jackson. Annabeth stared down at her phone with disbelief.


	26. Chapter 26

**AN: I do not own any of the wonderful characters thought up by Rick Riordan. It's my first fanfiction and I would love not to get sued.**

Annabeth walked out of the stall, she felt slightly nauseous. She walked out of the bathroom and hastily checked in with booth's E and F. They didn't need anything, so Annabeth walked back to the bar and started thinking through what she had just read. Percy had lied to her. She had helped him cheat. She felt a tears behind her eyes because she knew what it was like to be cheated on, and she had helped him do it. Annabeth's sadness only lasted a minute, soon it grew into anger. She was furious. He had lied to her. He was acting like he was better than Luke when they were just the same. Annabeth rested her elbows on the bar and ran her fingers through her hairspray stiff hair. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted Percy walking towards her. She closed her eyes, hoping he'd go away.

"Annabeth," She kept her eyes closed, refusing to acknowledge his presence. "I'm sorry, I know Claire can be… a bit much." Even though her eyes were shut tight, she felt him take a step closer. "We're not really dating so this shouldn't be a problem." Annabeth considered walking away.

"I know we're not dating!" Annabeth eyes snapped open. Yes, they weren't really dating but he still flirted with her, kissed her. "I doesn't change the fact that you cheated on her!" she seethed.

"What?" he looked confused, "I'm not cheating,"

"Really?' Annabeth replied in a loud voice, getting Jorge attention, "because I'm pretty sure kissing someone else is considered cheating" He eyed Annabeth wearily. She smiled, not wanting to draw more attention and grabbed Percy's wrist, pulling him around the corner. Next to the bathroom, where they had been less than two days ago. Annabeth suppressed the memory of the chills he'd been able to send down her spine with his voice alone.

"What are you doing?" Percy complained as she dragged him. "I have to get back to my date." Percy leaned back against the wall behind him.

"Percy I have been cheated on, I know how much it sucks. You need to go tell Claire you're cheated on her."

"But were not dating!" Percy replied frustrated.

"I know" Annabeth asked, allowing herself to be loud as the show was in the middle of a dance number.

"What?" She couldn't hear him, but she read his lips and his confused expression.

"I know we're not dating Percy but that doesn't change anything?" She yelled over the loud song.

"Annabeth," Percy reached out to grasp her hips but she slapped his hands away, "Claire and I aren't dating" He yelled back, a smile hiding behind his eyes. Annabeth didn't find it funny at all.

"I just read online that you guys are dating,"

"You can't believe everything you read on the internet." He laughed, "You really think I collect forks?"

"There were photos," Annabeth narrowed her eyes, daring him to lie again, "graphic photos." Percy's eyes dropped to the floor.

"We aren't dating," Percy smiled, "trust me."

"How am I supposed to trust you?" Annabeth laughed and shook her head, "I don't even know you!"

"Get to know me then," Percy grabbing her by the waist and pulling her towards him, quick enough that she couldn't stop him, "Go out with me tonight."

"Will your girlfriend be joining us?"

"Annabeth…" Percy stared down at her, running one hand through her hair.

"I can't anyways," Annabeth put a hand on his chest and pushed herself away, "I have plans."

"I don't believe you," Percy replied, trying to provoke her.

"It's true," Annabeth retorted, "I promised Piper I'd go dancing with her tonight. Hey, and who knows," she threw her arms into the air, "maybe I'll meet a nice guy who doesn't cheat. If those even exist." She added the last part under her breath.

"Someone better than me?" Percy said playfully but Annabeth wasn't in the mood.

"Prove it," She crossed her arms across her chest.

"Prove what?"

"That you guys aren't dating."

"How?"

"I don't know," Annabeth tapped her finger along her arm, "somehow," Percy laughed.

"You're jealous," he said back, a smile tugging at his lips.

"Are you kidding me Percy?" Annabeth rolled her eyes. "I'm not jealous that you're on a date with a disco ball."

"Sure," Percy replied, unbelieving.

"I'm not jealous, I'm mad because you lied and you cheated!" Percy opened his mouth but didn't say anything. Annabeth gave him a tight smile and turned on her heels. She had barely taken a step before he pulled her wrist, turning her back around. "What?!" She asked irritated. He used her arm to rope her in. He drew her towards him until there was a thin millimeter of air between their chests. He gazed down at her, his bright eyes hidden behind long eyelashes.

"I didn't lie," he said softly. Annabeth tried not to react to the seductive nature of his voice. "I didn't cheat either," Annabeth let out a short laugh.

"Mhm," Annabeth nodded sarcastically. Percy delicately cupped her face with his calloused hands. Annabeth swallowed hard, feeling butterflies fly into her stomach.

"You know," Percy smiled, a sleepy look in his eyes, "if we weren't just friends, I might be tempted to kiss you." Annabeth felt herself blush. She clenched her first, scolding herself for not being able to control her body.

"You know," She leaned towards him, "if you weren't a liar, I might be tempted to do the same." Percy raised his eyebrows. "But alas," Annabeth laid a hand against her forehead as if she were about to faint, "you are." Annabeth gave a fake sniffle and took a step away. Percy looked down, preparing a witty comeback but was interrupted by a swoosh of blonde hair. He looked up to object, but she was already gone.


	27. Chapter 27

**AN: I do not own any of the wonderful characters thought up by Rick Riordan. It's my first fanfiction and I would love not to get sued**

Percy walked back to his booth. "What did she say?" Claire asked, as he slid in next to her.

"That she'd have a talk with her after the show." Percy lied.

"I mean, who did she think she was talking to?" Claire said with a smug smile. Wrapped her fingers around Percy's bicep, holding his arm close. He tried not to laugh as she tried to snuggle with him. He kept his body stiff until she gave up. Percy tried to watch the show but couldn't help stealing glances back at Annabeth. She ignored him. She didn't come back to the booth until the end of the show. There were only ten minutes left in the show.

"Do you guys need anything else?" Annabeth refused to meet Percy's eyes.

"I'm fine," Claire replied, "Babe?"  
"I'll have another-" Percy's eyes widened as spotlight hit Annabeth. He looked around auditorium and noticed several other waitresses also had spotlights. Annabeth's heart dropped. Her face was blank as she searched the room for Hannah.

"C'mon guys, everyone get into it!" One of the dancers yelled into her microphone. "We've had spies in audience this whole time," Annabeth saw Hannah. Across the room she saw her mouth, _dance_!

"Let's dance!" The announcer finished. Annabeth turned around to look at the other waitresses. The one in the spotlights had each taken a partner and were making their way up to the stage. Annabeth felt someone take the tray out of her hands as her heart beat out of her chest. Percy took Annabeth by the hands, trying to calm her down. He looked into her eyes.

"C'mon," He motioned towards the stage with his head, "You don't wanna ruin the show." Annabeth frowned but nodded and led him up to the side stairs to the stage. They joined the dancers and four other couples dancing.

"Now," The dancer Annabeth had helped earlier, Jill, spoke through her microphone, "for the competition." She smiled widely, showing all her teeth, "You guys will watch us dance and then try it yourselves. The best dancers will win this certificate for the Paradise Salon and Spa. Now, watch closely," All the dancers except Jill and a male dancer watched off stage. Annabeth licked her lips nervously, fully aware of how terrible she was at dancing. Percy saw her anxious eyes and placed a hand on the small of her back to relax her. He felt her body sigh then quickly stiffen as she shot him a dirty look. He removed his hand. They both watched the dancing couple complete a basic foxtrot. Annabeth tried to memorize the steps but their feet moved so fast. The dancers performed it twice and then gave the competitors a few minutes to practice. Annabeth, Percy and the other four couples went backstage. Jill and the rest of the dancers walked onstage to entertain the rest of the audience while they practiced.

"Okay," Annabeth said as they took the starting position, "So it's front, back, side," She stared down at her feet uncertain, "side, front, side, back, twirl?" She raised her face to look at Percy. His lips were curved into an amused smile.

"Are you done?" he tried not to laugh.

"Don't make fun of me!," Annabeth attempting to take a step away from him, but he held her tightly. "It's hard!"

"I thought you said you were going dancing tonight." Percy asked, furrowing his brows innocently.

"I am," Annabeth assured.

"Don't you have to know how to dance to, you know, dance?" Annabeth expression dropped. She drove her stiletto into his foot. Percy cursed under his breath.

"Do you want to try again?" Annabeth smiled sweetly. Percy held out a hand and Annabeth took it. They began to dance but only made it two steps in before Annabeth made the first mistake. The fourth step was the second mistake, the sixth the third mistake. Percy was laughing silently but Annabeth could feel the vibrations through his chest. "Why don't you show me?" she said curtly, "Since you're such a good dancer."

"Okay," Percy didn't have a problem with the idea. He was an excellent dancer. He'd learned during his training for Dancing with the Stars. Even though he'd eventually dropped out due to conflicting schedules, he'd received a week of professional dance lessons. "First, bring your foot out like this."

"Okay," replied Annabeth mirroring his movements.

"Just do what I do, I'll go slow." Percy did the first eight counts, "got it?" She nodded slowly.

"One more time?" She asked shyly raising her eyes to meet his.

"Mhm," Percy answered patiently. Her eyes returned to her feet. "1, 2, 3," with every count he pulled her closer, "4, 5," So that their bodies were nearly touching, "6-"

"Percy," She interjected, "I can't see my feet." She took her hand off his shoulder and put it on his chest, trying to create a gap between them.

"Annabeth," he took his hand off her waist and held her chin, forcing her to look up at him. "You can't stare at your feet the whole time," he chucked.

"Why not?" Annabeth replied, getting defensive.

"Because we won't win." Annabeth put her hand back on his shoulder, threw her head back and laughed. Percy smiled, he loved her laugh.

"I don't want to win. I want to survive."

"You can do both if you just keep your eyes on me," Percy returned his hand to her waist, "1," he took a step back. Annabeth didn't follow.

"Percy I don't know the steps." She complained. He stepped back towards her.

"Yes, you do."

"No, I don't"

"It doesn't matter, I'll carry you" he held her body to his so she had no choice but to move with him. "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8." They stopped. "See, it's a easy."

"Maybe for you," Annabeth scoffed.

"1, 2, 3," Annabeth stared into Percy's eyes and tried to concentrate on her feet. "4, 5, 6," Percy was holding Annabeth so tight it felt like she was gliding across the floor, the dance took no effort at all. "7, 8," Annabeth sighed, relieved to be done, "Now spin!" He lifted his hand and spun her out.

"Percy!" She hissed slightly disoriented. Before she could say anything he pulled her back in. Her heart beat irregularly as she looked up at his wide grin. His hair fallen over his forehead and tickled his eyebrows. His eyes normally bright looked darker than usual. They scanned her face, lingering on her lips.

"We're definitely gonna win," he said softly, running a finger along Annabeth's jaw line. She shuddered.

"Okay!" Jill yelled backstage, "practice is over. Who's ready to dance?!" She smiled enthusiastically. Annabeth jumped away from Percy. _He's a liar_ , she reminded herself. _He cheated_ , she tried to convince herself. _He overall sucks_. Jill's eyes scanned the room, "okay, let's-" her words caught in her throat when she spotted Percy. "Are you Percy Jackson?" She asked excitedly.

"Uh," Percy glanced at Annabeth who had just sprung out of his arms "Yeah."

"Eeeek," Jill said through clenched teeth. Her eyes were crazy wide and it looked like she had lock jaw. Percy smiled politely and reached out to hold Annabeth hand. Annabeth pulled it away, hiding it behind her back. "Okay," Jill said, jolting back to reality. "Let's go, it's time to dance." She cheered. She motioned for all the couples to walk out onto the stage. Percy and Annabeth went last. They were about to walk past the curtains when Jill stopped them. "Percy," she twirled her hair.

"Yes?" He answered cautiously. She leaned towards him and whispered something into his ear. He nodded, eyebrows raised. She giggled and ran on stage.

"What did she say?" Annabeth asked, working hard not to roll her eyes. It was absurd how many time this had happened.

"You'll find out soon enough," he quickly took her hand, and before she could protest pulled her on stage.


	28. Chapter 28

**AN: I do not own any of the wonderful characters thought up by Rick Riordan. It's my first fanfiction and I would love not to get sued.**

Annabeth squinted, the bright stage lights were blinding. She felt Percy squeeze her hand and was grateful to have him by her side. She smiled and tried to act like she were enjoying herself as she listened to Jill explain the rules to the audience one last time. "Alright!" Jill flashed Percy a smile, "May the best team win!" She took a step back and the dance music started. Percy and Annabeth took their places. He placed his hand on her waist and she on his shoulder. She stared up at him, breathing unevenly as she tried to remember the steps.

"Three, four, five," Percy whispered to help her. "Six, seven, eight. Now spin." Annabeth took a quick breath and spun out. Percy pulled her back in before she could go too far. The song stopped and Annabeth smiled with a mixture of relief and pride.

"We've got some great dancer out here tonight!" Jill walked in between the couples, revving up the crowd. "Who do you guys think won?" Jill heels clicked on the hardwood stage. "We're gonna vote using our applause. So, if I point to the couple you think won, make some noise!" She pointed to the couple to her right. The applause could be heard throughout the auditorium. The next couples received the same response. Jill finally came to Percy and Annabeth. "What about Percy Jackson and his… dancer?" Annabeth rolled her eyes. She knew Jill knew her name. At the mention of Percy Jackson the crowd went wild. "I think we have a winner!" Jill presented Percy with the certificate he'd won. "Told you," she added quietly with a wink. Annabeth didn't notice, she was too amazed that they'd _actually_ won.

"You hear that?" Percy turned to Annabeth once Jill walked away, "we won!"

"We won," Annabeth repeated in disbelief. She noticed the rest of the waitresses leaving the stage and led Percy off the stage as well. "Wow, you must be a pretty good dancer to have carried me." Annabeth said as they walked down the back stairs and towards his booth.

"What are you talking about," Percy asked ignoring the starstruck audience members were giving him,"You did great." Annabeth laughed and raised an eyebrow.

"I don't believe you even a little bit-"

"Percy!" Claire ran threw herself at Percy. He rocked back on his heels, surprised by the sudden impact. "You are such an amazing dancer." She showered him with kisses as he stabilized himself.

"Claire," he said, in a less than enthusiastic voice, "What are you doing?" She pried her off of him.

"Perce," She glanced at Annabeth and then back at Percy, "Why are you acting so weird." Percy opened his mouth to answer but Annabeth beat him to it.

"It was nice to meet you Claire," She plastered a smile on her face, "I have to get back to work." She glanced at Percy, unsure whether to feel sad or mad. Annabeth shook her head. They were just friend, she had to remember that. Annabeth sat through the last minute or two of the show and stayed behind as the guests exited the Lounge, picking up glasses and garbage. She lifted her head and saw Percy making his way towards her through the crowd. He stopped suddenly. He looked back and saw Claire tugging on his arm, pulling him away, towards the exit. Annabeth smiled weakly and went back to picking up garbage. The next time she looked up he was gone. The second show went by slowly. The second time the spotlight hit her she wasn't surprised, she smiled and asked the cute guys she was serving to dance. He nodded politely and followed her on stage. Although she knew the steps, her mind kept wandering to Percy. To the way his eyes played with her mind, the way his laugh filled her with warmth. Annabeth shook her head.

"Am I really that bad?" her partner chuckled.

"No," Annabeth reassured him, "I'm just distracted that's all." He grinned and they continued practicing. It wasn't a shock to Annabeth when they didn't win. He on the other hand wore an expression of pure astonishment.

"But we were so good!" He exclaimed as she returned him back to his seat.

"It's definitely rigged," she joked. He laughed in response

"Do you want to… um" he held out his hand, "I'm Joe," Annabeth shook it, a miniscule smile on her face.

"Annabeth,"

"Do you to do something aft-"

"I have to go back to work-" They both said at the same time.

"Oh yeah," he nodded sheepishly, "you should get back to work." they reached his seats and he sat down with his friends, "I don't want to get you fired."

"Yep," Annabeth agreed after an awkward silence. She gave him a quick wave and ambled back to the bar.

 **I know it's short I'm sorry, they'll get longer after all this craziness at school ends.**


	29. Chapter 29

AN: I do not own any of the wonderful characters thought up by Rick Riordan. It's my first fanfiction and I would love not to get sued

"Piper I'm so tired." Annabeth pouted.

"I don't care," Piper replied, "you promised. Now go!" She pushed her into the bathroom. "We're leaving in an hour and you still haven't showered."

"Ughhh," Annabeth groaned but obeyed. She turned on the hot water and walked back out, letting it warm up. "Piper," She sighed looking at her clothes, "I didn't bring any dancing clothes." Piper's jaw dropped. "What?"

"You're kidding me right?" Piper began sorting through Annabeth's clothes, "I'll find that dress Luke gave you."

"No," Annabeth put an arm in front of Piper trying to stop her, "I don't want to wear that,"

"Then why'd you pack it?" Reasoned Piper

"Please," Piper saw the hurt in Annabeth's eyes and decided to drop it.

"Fine," She dropped Annabeth's clothes and walked over to her own, "you can wear something of mine."

"Piper," Annabeth whined.

"You're going Annabeth," Piper spoke firmly, "So stop making excuses and get in the shower." Piper's eyes told her not to object. Annabeth bit her tongue and walked into the bathroom, slamming the flimsy door behind her.

It only took Annabeth seven minutes to shower. Piper did her hair while she did her mascara and put on the lipstick Piper insisted flattered her skin tone. After arguing about the outfit Piper had picked out for three minutes, Annabeth gave in and changed. In 18 minutes they were waiting for their uber. By 10:31 they arrived at The Aquarium, Piper's favorite club.

"Thank you!" Piper sang as she got opened the back door of the car. Piper exited the care and confidently walked to the front of the line. Annabeth followed adjusting her royal blue dress. In less than a minute they were let into the club, free of charge. "I know,' Piper shrugged non chantilly, "I'm amazing,"

"Shut up," replied Annabeth, playfully hitting her shoulder. It was incredible how Piper's series of hair twirling and winking could win anyone over. Annabeth wished she shared the same talent, it got Piper out of everything.

"Drinks?!" Piper yelled through the loud music. Annabeth nodded grinning. The minute they neared the bar the bartender immediately recognized Piper. After simply batting her eyelashes, Piper managed to get them their first drinks on the house. Annabeth had barely finished the margarita Piper had ordered her when she was dragged onto the dance floor. Annabeth didn't like dancing but Piper's silly attitude loosened her up. Within a few minutes both Annabeth and Piper were surrounded by a ring of guys, all hoping to dance with them. Annabeth and Piper were laughing about they guys lame attempts to grope them when Annabeth noticed something odd.

"Piper!" She yelled even though they were inches apart, "Why do you keep looking at the door?"

"I'm not," Piper replied and kept dancing, looking everywhere but the door.

"Piper," Annabeth grabbed her arm to stop her from dancing away, "Who did you invite?"

"Um," Piper bit her lip nervously, "I'll tell you at the bar." She snatched her arm out of Annabeth grip and walked as fast as she could towards the bar. Annabeth followed angrily.

"Piper!" Annabeth yelled once she was behind her.

"Shots!" Piper suggested, "on me?"  
"Piper." Annabeth glared into her ever changing eyes.

"Okay," Piper gulped, "So I may have said something to Jason about us going out tonight. And he may have mentioned it to Jack." Annabeth sucked in air, "And apparently he's desperate to see you so… they should be here any minute." Piper waited in silence for Annabeth's reaction.

"I'll take those shots now," She said with a half smile. Piper turned towards the bartender..

"Can I get," She examined Annabeth before making her order "four shots?" Annabeth gave her a quick nod of approval and the bartender got to work. No less than a minute later six shots were lined up along the bar. Annabeth picked one up, Piper did the same. Annabeth raised the glass to her nose and smelled it, recoiling at the sharp scent. "On the count of three?"

"Yep," Annabeth held the shot to her lips, her mouth partially open.

"One," Annabeth took a deep breath, "two," Piper glanced behind Annabeth's shoulder, her eyes widened. "Three!" Annabeth tipped her head back and closed her eyes, letting the burning in her throat subside. She opened her eyes back up and saw Piper's worried expression.

"What?" Annabeth asked with a light laugh, "it wasn't that bad…"

"Um," Piper put a hand on Annabeth's shoulder, "don't panic," She said in a soothing voice that gave Annabeth anxiety, "but they're here." Her entire body tensed under Piper's loose grip.

"Piper!" She heard Jason call. Piper stared at her, her eyes full of concern.

"Jason!" Piper threw her arms up into the air so he could locate her. She pried her eyes off of Annabeth and onto Jason. "Hey!" She yelled, throwing her arms around his shoulders. "Where's Jack?" She asked, more for Annabeth's benefit.

"He forgot his phone in the car." He pulled away from Piper, placing a kiss on her forehead in the process. "He should be coming in any minute," He turned around, searching the entrance to the club, "he was right behind me. There he is," he said after a minute, waving his arms in the air so Jack could see them. Piper noticed Jack had a small bouquet of flower and quickly turned to Annabeth to apologize.

"Sorry," Annabeth eyes shifted down, Piper's followed. She stared at the four now empty shot glasses.


	30. Chapter 30

**AN: I do not own any of the wonderful characters thought up by Rick Riordan. It's my first fanfiction and I would love not to get sued**

"These are for you," Jack held out the flowers.

"Thanks" Annabeth replied, holding out the s. She took the flowers, glancing at Piper and Jason who were both on the dancefloor, looking for a way to escape.

"I realize now it seems like a bit much." He commented sheepishly, fidgeting with his hands.

"No," Annabeth smiled politely, "I just don't know what to do with them." Jack pursed his lips, looking around for somewhere to put the flowers.

"Here," he took them back, "I'll put them with the jackets."

"Okay," Annabeth replied, sounding a little too eager. The minute he left she frantically signalled for the bartender. He quickly walked over, drying a glass with a towel. "Shots," She peeked over her shoulder at Jack who trying to cut through a big group of girls in front of the closet. "Two," She said turning back towards the bartender.

"Tequila?" He smiled, an amused look painted his face. Annabeth nodded, embarrassed he knew her so well.

"Fast." She added when she saw Jack emerge flowerless from the coatroom. She tapped her foot impatiently under the table as she watched the bartender pour her shots. He slid them over to her, "Thanks," She breathed and downed them both.

"Annabeth?" She heard Jack's voice behind her. She spun around.

"Yes?" She replied innocently. He walked towards her, fooled by her cool expression.

"You look great," he smirked looking her up and down. It took all Annabeth's strength to keep her smile sweet. She gave the most uncomfortable laugh.

"Let's dance." Annabeth reeled around and strode towards the dance floor, seeing an easy way to get rid of him. She danced her way over to Piper and Jason who were grinding hard. She felt awkward interrupting them but not the least bit guilty. She shot Piper a desperate look. Piper rolled her eyes in response and whispered something into Jason's ear. He nodded and let his hands fall from her hips. Piper smiled apologetically at Jack and took Annabeth by the hand, dragging her towards the bathroom, leaving Jason to explain their sudden departure.

"Annabeth could you please be a good sport?" Piper whined.

"Piper!" Annabeth snapped back, "He showed up with flowers.

"So?" Piper bounced up and down, wanting to get back to the dance floor.

"Who brings flowers to a fucking club, not to mention we've never even been on a date!" Annabeth wave her arms around violently, drawing weird looks.

"I guess he just really likes you?" Piper guessed with a shrug.

"Piper," Annabeth groaned, running her fingers through her hair, "I can't do it,"

"Because you like Percy?" Piper questioned incredulously, "he has a girlfriend!" She said throwing her hands up in the air out of frustration.

"I know, and I don't even like Percy anymore," Annabeth lied.

"Really?" Piper cocked her head to the side, unconvinced.

"Yeah," Annabeth replied, "he has a girlfriend and I'm not gonna help him cheat."

"Okay," Piper clarified, "so you do like him, but you don't want to be the other woman."

"No" Annabeth replied too quickly, "I don't like him."

"Then why can't you just go dance with Jack?" She asked, leaning towards her.

"BecaUSE" She replied, the end of the word coming out loud. Piper took a step back, her eyes playfully wide.

"You are so drunk!" She laughed.

"No I'm not," Annabeth crossed her arms across her chest defensively.

"Maybe no, but you will be." She pushed her lightly and smiled softly, "please Annabeth, for me?" Annabeth didn't answer. "Annabeth he's always around, like always. Whenever I visit Jason he's always there. Please, just for tonight, let us dance in peace."

"Fine." Annabeth replied finally.

"Eeeeek," Piper ran forward and hugged her, "thank you!" Annabeth pulled away.

"The things I do for you." She shook her head and hooked an arm around Piper's. "Let's go!" She mocked excitement. Piper gave her a knowing grin and, arm in arm they exited the bathroom together. They walked back onto the dance floor and met Jack and Jason who were both just standing there awkwardly, waiting for them. Annabeth rolled her eyes and took Jack by the arm, pulling him away. Piper sent her a thankful look and resumed dancing with Jason.

"Are you gonna dance?" Annabeth gave Jack a pointed look, he answered by awkwardly shuffling his feet. Annabeth smiled and shook her head. She took his hands and starts jumping up and down, side to side, trying to get his energy up. She could feel the tequila kick in, everything became fluid. Jack's dancing became better as his confidence grew. Annabeth let go of his hands, taking a step back. She swung her hips, mouthing the words to the song. Jack danced sillily, roping her in. Annabeth laughed, jumping towards him. Annabeth didn't mind his hands on her hips anymore. It was nice, just having fun. They were both jumping to the beat. She loved the way her hair felt, bobbing up and down against her skin. Annabeth turned around, away from Jack, looking over the crowd, trying to spot Jason, since he was tall. She didn't see him, but it didn't bother her. She kept dancing, feeling her body move to the music. She felt Jack put his big hands on her waist from behind. She tried to turn around but he was too close, sliding his hands down to her hips. She closed her eyes rolling her body against him, _it doesn't matter_ she told herself. She could feel his breath on the back of her neck. It was hot, too hot. She stiffened, suddenly uncomfortable, too conscious of what was going on. He turned her around. He looked sweaty, drunk. She didn't remember him drinking. He smiled drowsily and used a hand to push a handful of curls out of her face. She tried to pull away. He didn't notice. His eyes fluttered shut as he leaned forward. Her eyes widened in realization, she turned her head quickly. He planted a wet kiss on her cheek and pulled back confused.

"Um," Annabeth swallowed hard, "Will you go get me a drink?" She asked frantic, looking for any excuse, "Gin and tonic?" He gave her a brisk nod and walked in the direction of the bar. She, once again, searched the dance floor for Piper and Jason. She couldn't find them. In any other state she would have been suspicious but she simply closed her eyes, threw her head back and moved to the music. The guys around her slowly inch closer, but she didn't mind. She felt one grip her waist. He breathed against her neck, sending sparks across her entire body. She reached an arm around her, pulling at his hair, turning her head, expecting to see Jack.

"Hey," she heard a deep voice whisper. She felt her stomach flip flop and spun around. She let her eyes adjust to the muscular figure standing in front of ther. She met his bright eyes with her own and received a devilish smirk.


	31. Chapter 31

**AN: I do not own any of the wonderful characters thought up by Rick Riordan. It's my first fanfiction and I would love not to get sued**

"What are you doing here?" Annabeth asked, more surprised than angry.

"Dancing?" he shrugged, his eyes half shut. He took her soft hands in his and pulled her farther into the crowd. She forgot momentarily about Jack and let him. She felt a blur a 'o' faces and whispers as they made their way to the front. He stopped, staring down at her softly before wrapping her hands around his neck. She didn't object. He put his hands on her hips, pulling her close, folding her body into his. She stared at his chest, Claire's face flashing across her mind. She felt Percy's hand on her chin, raising her gaze to meet his. She looked up at him through her mascara painted eyelashes, studying him. The minute their eyes met, green on grey, the butterflies in the stomach multiplied, causing her to abandon all logic. She swayed from side to side, lost in the comfortable heat of his body, distracted by the way her body hummed at his touch. Annabeth slowly, smoothly, raised her hands up into the air above her and began dancing, bringing them back down, running it through her curls. She swung her hips, eyes never leaving Percy's. He watched Annabeth amused.

"I thought you said you couldn't dance." Annabeth couldn't hear him, but read his lips. She grinned, spinning around so her back was to him. He kept his hands on her hips, his movements synched with hers. She rolled her body against his, reaching behind her, tangling her fingers in his dark hair, pulling him closer. She felt his mouth on her neck, his full lips curl into a smile. "I like your dress," he breathed, moving his hands up and down her body. She closed her eyes, giggling and rolled her head to the side.

"It's not mine-" Through her eyelids she saw a bright flash of light. She felt Percy tense up and stop dancing. She turned around, "What's wrong?" She asked, her eyelashes fluttering. Percy look down and her relaxed a bit.

"Let's get out of here,"

"I can't I'm here with someone. Anyways, I'm having fun," The room spun around them. He tipped his head forward, sadness flickered across his eyes.

"I know," he nodded slowly, a contemplative look on his face, "But we can have fun somewhere else." Annabeth gnawed at her lip, wondering why he wanted to leave so suddenly. "Just tell her you felt sick and took an uber home," He gave her a wistful smile.

"I can't," she answered finally, "I have to stay with him." Percy, who was nodding his head low quickly picked it up.

"Him?" he asked, a teasing look on his face.

"Yeah," Annabeth, in her state, became quickly defensive, "We're not dating Percy, I'm allowed to like whoever I want!" She snapped angrily.

"So you like him?" Percy's expression hardened as he pulled away.

"No." Annabeth almost screamed, "You have a girlfriend," She poked him hard in the chest.

"Uh," Annabeth head a voice behind her, she turned around irritated and was met by a pair or brown worrisome eyes, "Am I interrupting something?" Jack asked, eyebrows raised.

"Yes"

"No" Percy and Annabeth said at the same time. She shot Percy a glare.

"Annabeth is this guy bothering you?" Jack he looked Percy up and down, his tone firm.

"I was just leaving," Percy smiled his classic smile, the one she'd seen in all the magazines, "take good care of her, otherwise she could get away from you." He said in an arrogant drawl, then winked at Annabeth before disappearing into the crowd.

"Here," he held out her drink, "sorry it took so long." Annabeth took the drink from him, taking a long sip, her eyes darting around the room, searching for Percy. "The bartender would not listen to me."

"Mhm" Annabeth craned her neck too see over the dancing couples around her, not sure which head of black hair was Percy's. She slumped back down defeated.

"So I told him to fuck off." Jack smiled, obviously proud of whatever he'd done.

"Wow," Annabeth smiled, even though she had no idea what he was talking about.

"Do you wanna dance?" He asked, making Annabeth suddenly aware that they were the only ones on the dance floor standing still.

"Sit?" Annabeth suggested, then, without waiting for an answer took off towards the couches that lined the room. She found a patch that was unoccupied and sat down, crossing her legs in the process, careful not to spill her drink. Jack plopped down next to her. She smiled, scooting slightly away, hoping he wouldn't notice. He didn't. "How are you?" Annabeth tried to make conversation.

"Good." He smiled, not bothered by the silence. Annabeth saw him lean in and quickly moved her cup in front of her face, taking an obnoxiously long sip.

"What's your major?" Annabeth was desperate to keep him talking.

"Undecided," he shrugged.

"If you had to choose?"

"Business I guess," he thought for a moment, "maybe economics." The brief silence scared Annabeth.

"I think I'd like to go into architecture." She raised her drink to her lips, taking another sip, searching for Percy with her eyes.

"Why architecture?"

"I'm not sure," She furrowed her brows and laughed, "I have no idea actually. I just kinda love it." She looked back up at him and caught a glint of green out the corner of her eye. She turned her head swiftly, wacking Jack with her hair. That's when she saw him. Percy. She stared at him in disbelief. He was surrounded by girls. His eyes met hers. He leaned forward and whispered into the ear of tall dark haired beauty, never breaking their gaze. Annabeth looked away, unable to stand it anymore. She tried to ignore it but behind her she saw the girl take Percy by the hand and lead him onto the dance floor.


	32. Chapter 32

**AN: I do not own any of the wonderful characters thought up by Rick Riordan. It's my first fanfiction and I would love not to get sued**

"Annabeth are you okay?" Asked Jack. Annabeth, who hadn't said a single word for a few minutes, snapped out of her daze. She picked up her head.

"Fine," She smothered her frown, replacing it with a wide artificial looking smile. "So," Annabeth inched towards him, placing a hand on his thigh, "Why business?" She cocked her head to the side, trying to look as charming as possible.

"Uh, I-" Jack stuttered surprised by her sudden change in demeanor, "I guess I just like bossing people around?" he guessed.

"Oh my gods!" She pushed him lightly on the shoulder, "you're so funny." Jack ran his fingers through his hair, chuckling, obviously confused. Annabeth rolled her eyes and finished her drink, boys could be so dumb. She stole a quick glance at Percy to see if he was watching her. He had his eyes half shut, watching the girl grinding with him.

"I mean I guess it's because my dad-"

"Hey," Annabeth cut him off impatiently, "Do you want to dance?"

"Yes," he eyed her oddly, "but we just sat down."

"I already finished my drink," Annabeth left her empty cup on the couch and grabbed Jack's wrist, dragging him onto the dance floor. She strategically positioned herself so Percy could see her but she couldn't see him, that way it wouldn't be too obvious. Immediately, she began dancing with Jack. She pulled him as close, their bodies touching wherever possible. Jack flipped her around, his hands coming dangerously close to her ass.

Annabeth decided to turn a blind eye and used the opportunity to watch Percy. She smiled, satisfied to see she had caught his attention. From behind his partner's wave dark hair she could see his green eyes, bright, watching hers. She was sure he would admit defeat, leave the dance floor, go home, apologize, but he didn't, he just kept dancing. She smile slowly faded, and it completely disappeared when she saw his eyes crinkle at the sides. He was smiling, laughing. What did he have to smile about? He thought he had won.

A wicked look painted her face, a high risk ferocity burned in her eyes. He should have known better than to get competitive, against Annabeth he'd never win. She backed up against Jack, flipping her hair to one side, letting his lips caress her neck. Smiling at the shock that flashed across Percy's eyes. He hid it quickly, turning his head, whispering into his partner's neck. She giggled and he shot Annabeth an impish grin.

Annabeth expression was unmoved. She pretend not to notice, tracing her fingers along Jack's jaw line, hooking her hands behind his head, rubbing up against him. Annabeth rolled her body against Jack, she heard him groaned and drag his fingers up her thighs, pulling her skirt up with them. Annabeth tried to ignore how exposed she was, instead she kept her eyes on Percy. She let her hands fall from Jack's neck, running them down his torso, down his hips, resting on his upper thighs.

Percy worked hard to stay relaxed. It was torture, watching her with him. He didn't show his disgust. He knew this was a game, he'd invented the game. Annabeth watched Percy, wondering why he wasn't reacting. Maybe he really didn't care, maybe it was- Annabeth thoughts were interrupted. Jack spun her around, she stared up at him. Her brows furrowed in confusion. She was still slightly disoriented when his lips came down hard on hers. She froze, unsure what to do. She didn't move, kept her arms by her sides. Her face contorted, suddenly sickened by the way his fat tongue snaked it's way across her lips, into her mouth. She raised her hands, put them on his chest, about to push him away when Jack was jerked back.

"Wha-" He began, befuddled. Annabeth didn't process what was happening until it was too late. In a series of swift movements Percy pulled back his arm and punched Jack square in the jaw, "Ughh!" Jack groaned holding his face in his hands. Screams erupted around the dancefloor followed by silence. Annabeth turned to Percy, eyes wide.

"Percy!" She yelled even though he could hear very well "What the fuck are you doing?"

"Annabeth-" he yelled back

"No," She cut him off, "What were you thinking? You can't just go punching random people."

"He wasn't-"

"C'mon," a big burly security guard grabbed Annabeth by the arms, picking her up off the floor. Percy found it hard not to smile as she kicked him defiantly..

"I don't even know him!" She argued, "My friends are here! I have to stay." The security guard didn't say a word, his grip never loosened. A second one was escorting Percy, who wasn't putting up a fight. The security guard pushed open the backdoor of the club, dropping Annabeth in the Alley. Percy quickly followed. The security guard glared at them both.

"Don't come back," he spoke in a soft but menacing voice. Percy saw Annabeth take a step forward and grabbed her arm, pulling her back towards him.

"We won't" he smiled and waited for the security guard to close the door. When he heard the latch shut he let go of Annabeth. "Guess we're alone now." He winked.


	33. Chapter 33

AN: I do not own any of the wonderful characters thought up by Rick Riordan. It's my first fanfiction and I would love not to get sued

Annabeth didn't say a word. She just stared. Her glare made the hair on the back of Percy's neck stand up. She began walking towards him at a brisk pace, taking long strides. Percy backed up when she didn't slow down. Annabeth waited until he was backed up against the alley wall before taking a deep breath and opening her mouth.

"What the fuck Percy?" she yelled, making wide angry movements with her arms. Percy didn't say anything, just watched her. "You can't just punch my friends!"

"Looked like more than friendship to me," Percy said cooly even though Annabeth's face was inches from his. Annabeth gaped.

"Are you kidding me?" She ran her fingers through her matted down hair, "You're not my boyfriend! You have a girlfriend!"

"Claire and I aren't dating" he replied frustrated, raising his voice slightly.

"Of course you're not." Annabeth laughed, though there was little humor to it, "For gods' sake Percy, I saw pictures of you two."

"She's not my girlfriend" he shrugged.

"Yeah," she blinked past the raindrops settling on her eyelashes, "neither am I!"

"I know," Percy starting to get worked up.

"Then why can't you leave me alone?!" Annabeth screamed, immediately regretted her words the minute she saw the hurt in his eyes. No, she reminded herself, Percy is cheating! No pity, he is horrible… right?

"Because we're friends," he yelled back, meeting Annabeth's level.

"Friends don't punch other friend's friends." Annabeth pointed out.

"Yeah, but I didn't like the way that friend was looking at you."

"Why do you care?" Silence followed Annabeth's question. She could feel the tension of all the unspoken words between them. She waited, both terrified and hopeful. Percy's eyes stared deep into hers, searching for something within her. She stared back, unable to look away. Before Annabeth realized what was happening Percy crashed his lips down onto hers. She parted her lips, desperate to make the most of the moment. She wasn't sure how long it would last. She wrapped her arms around his neck, ran her fingers through his hair, felt his strong shoulders. Percy kissed her back hungrily, fiercy. He pulled away for a second and stared at her, his eyes dark with desire. His hair stuck to his forehead, tickling his dark eyebrows. Annabeth curled her fingers into his t-shirt, pulling him back down. He groaned, low in his throat, and slid his hands down her body, placing them on the small of her back, holding her against him. Annabeth felt something hard and cold against her back and realized they had pushed themselves across the alley. She'd lost all rational thought. She gasped as his strong arms encircled her, pulling her up slightly. She hooked her legs around his lower back, her head now a few inches taller than his. He dug his fingertips into her thighs, hiking up her dress in the process. Annabeth pulled away, gasping for air. Percy kept kissing her, on the corner of her mouth, down her neck, along her collarbone. She ran her hands up and down his strong torso. His white shirt was soaked to a point of transparency. She let him kiss her until she could take it no longer, grabbing the back of his head, bringing his lips back to hers. She fumbled with her eyes closed, trying to get her hands under Percy's shirt. A loud rip echoed through the alley but they both ignored it. Annabeth explored his now exposed shoulders. She felt his smooth muscles ripple as one arm wrapped tightly around her curves, the other supporting her weight. Annabeth felt an irrational need for him to be closer, so much closer. She tangled her fingers in his drenched hair, her mouth over his, chaotic.

"Annabeth?!" An alarmed and slightly confused voice called. Annabeth pushed Percy off, dropping onto the hard ground, her legs wobbly. Percy stepped away from her, his head still spinning. She hastily pulled down her skirt, knowing full well it hung at her hips. As she did she heard the clatter of her possessions hitting the floor as they fell out of her dress. She overlooked it, stabilizing herself

"Hello?" She squinted, trying to identify to silhouette standing at the end of the alley. Realizing it was Jack she glanced at Percy and fought not to smile at the cute dazed smile on his face.

"I should have known," Jack shook his head, walking into the alley to get a better look of Percy and Annabeth. They were both a mess; lips swollen, faces flushed, and out of breath. "Do you even like me?" he asked Annabeth, his eyes accusing.

"As a friend." She managed to squeak out.

"Fuck you." He swiveled on his heel then turned back around to address Percy this time, "Fuck you too." With that he took off towards the street. Annabeth ran after him, following him to his car.

"Jack!" he got in the driver's seat, buckled in and turned on the ignition, "I'm sorry!" she yelled through the window, "But you can't just leave me, I don't know where Piper and Jason are."

"Call them," he yelled back, not bothering to roll down the window.

"Jack!" Annabeth pounded on the window, "You're drunk." Jack put the car in reverse, "take a cab." He turned up the music loud and in one swift motion pulled out, leaving Annabeth in a puddle of rain. "AGHHHH." Annabeth yelled at the sky before storming back to the alley where Percy was waiting. In his hands he held her phone, her money, and her cards. "Thanks," She said snatching them back, stuffing the cash and cards into her bra and wiping the water off her phone. She speed dialed Piper and put the phone to her ear. The call was ringing when she caught Percy gaping at her, "What?" She asked, her tone much snappier than she'd meant it to be. He didn't notice, he was amazed.

"Were those in… " he pointed to her chest, "there this whole time?"

"Yeah," She raised an eyebrow, "I don't like carrying bags." Annabeth let out a whimper when Piper didn't answer. She was about to close her phone went she saw three texts from Piper.

Where are you?

Jason and I are going back to his dorm.

Get a ride home with Jack.

Annabeth groaned. "There goes my ride," she muttered under her breath.

"Hm?" asked Percy.

"Nothing," Annabeth wiped another layer of water off her phone and opened her uber app. Percy peeked over her shoulder.

"I can give you a ride." Percy said, closing Annabeth's phone.

"No," Annabeth smiled, opening her phone again, "It's really no problem."

"I insist," he beamed, pulling the phone out of her hands.

"Percy," She jumped for the phone but he dangled it where she couldn't reach it, "it's fine."

"Annabeth," he mimicked her tone, "it would be irresponsible to both the environment and your bank account to take two separate cars when we're traveling to the same place."

"Fine," Annabeth huffed. Percy grinned, handing her the phone.


	34. Chapter 34

**AN: I do not own any of the wonderful characters thought up by Rick Riordan. It's my first fanfiction and I would love not to get sued. Also I just want to say how much I appreciate all my wonderful readers you guys keep me going. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing and following and favoriting. Anyways, hope you all enjoy the story.**

"This is your car?" Annabeth asked incredulously.

"Yep." Percy grinned as he ran his hand along the hood of the old prius.

"You're kidding." She laughed eyebrows raised.

"Not at all," he leaned against the black car, facing Annabeth.

"But you're rich," Annabeth replied quietly.

"Exactly," He smiled, running a hand down her shoulder, capturing her waist, pulling her close. She let herself be dragged into him, hiding a small smile. "If you saw this car would you think 'oh my god, that's Percy Jackson' or 'that random guy's car sucks.'" Annabeth nodded in reply.

"Did you drink?" Annabeth asked suspiciously.

"No," Percy's expression hardened for a second before returning to his casual smile. He pulled back and opened the passenger door, "After you," he motioned to the door.

Annabeth rolled her eyes, "Thanks." Percy shut the door lightly once she was seated and walked around the car to get in. Annabeth burst out laughing when she saw the huge tear in the back of his shirt.

"What so funny?" he asked getting in and putting in the key.

"Nothing," Annabeth had stopped laughing and instead wore a tight smile.

"Okay weirdo," he eyed her oddly and reached for his seat belt, giving Annabeth a clear view of his exposed skin. Her smile was threatening to break open.

"So why were you here?" Annabeth changed the subject, struggling to keep her giggles inside. Percy paused a minute, starting the car, unsure what she was referring to.

"Oh, in the club?" he clarified.

"Mhm,"

"I went with friends." he shrugged.

"Are you leaving them behind?"

"No," Percy smiled at her worried expression, "the two of them met some twins so… "

"I get it," Annabeth waved an arm cutting him off, not attempting to hide her distaste. "So you and Claire…"

"Aren't dating" Percy finished for her. She faced him, watching him drive with lazy smile. "What?" Percy laughed, "Why are you watching me?"

"No reason," Annabeth spoke quietly.

"Tell me,"

"You're nothing like I expected" Percy chuckled, making Annabeth warm all over.

"I must be much better." Annabeth shook her head and leaned forward to turn up the music. Percy turned it back down. "You don't want to talk to me?" Percy mocked hurt.

"I guess I have a few questions." Annabeth turned towards him, resting her elbow on the center console. "Why are you and Claire fake dating?"  
Percy whistled and glanced at her quickly, "Really stuck on that aren't you" Annabeth was silent. "Well, I don't know if you've heard but I've got quite a reputation."

"My friend told me," She nodded slowly.

"I've got to meet this friend of yours." he said with raised eyebrows.

"You already did" the memory making her chuckle, "you made her faint." Percy furrowed his brows, recalling the moment.

"Ah, Piper?" he asked, turning to Annabeth for a split second. She watched his lips as he spoke.

"She's a fan," She replied, averting her eyes, quickly facing the window. The car came to a starchy halt as they encounter the first red light of the trip.

"Are you?" Annabeth shifted uncomfortably under his intense gaze.

"Not sure yet," Annabeth said thoughtfully, ignoring the slight disappointment in his eyes, "I like you," she turned, finally meeting his blue green eyes. Her voice became quiet, suddenly realizing how beautiful they were, like the ocean after a storm. "I'm just not sure I like Percy Jackson." She spoke carefully. The stoplight turned green and Percy stepped on the gas. "Do you know what I mean?" Annabeth asked after a few seconds of silence.

"Unfortunately I do," he didn't take his eyes off the road this time. Annabeth opened her mouth to speak but Percy, who she realized wasn't the best driver, took a sharp left turn and threw Annabeth across the center console. Her face landed in his crotch. It took Annabeth a second to realize what had happened.

"Annabeth," Percy voice shook with concern, "What the hell! Are you not wearing you seatbelt?" It took Annabeth a second second to realize where she was.

"Ah," She gasped and jumped up back into her seat.

"Put on your seatbelt." Percy said as he rounded the corner and drove onto the hotel property.

"Percy," Annabeth threw him a look, "we're basically here."

"Please," Annabeth rolled her eyes and reached for it clicking into place a moment later.

"Wait," Annabeth bit her lip, "Percy can you drop me off before you get too close."

"Why?" Percy slowed down the car, "Are you embarrassed to be seen with me?"

"No!" Annabeth said a little too quickly, "I just can't lose my job remember."

"Alright," Percy squinted, trying to get a better look at the hotel they were slowly approaching, "Where?"

"Here's probably fine," Annabeth said spotting the gravel patch where Jason had parked just a few days earlier. Percy pulled the car into park.

"It's raining pretty hard," he nodded towards the raindrops being quickly pushed away by the windshield wipers, "you sure you don't want me to drive you a little farther."

"Don't worry." Annabeth replied, checking around her to make sure she wasn't forgetting anything, "it's only a minute walk to my room."

"Annabeth," Percy soft tone startled her. She looked up wide curious eyes. He suppressed a chuckle as he leaned across the center console. She narrowed her eyes at him, a playful smile tugging at the corner of her lips. She pulled a still wet curl behind her ear and leaned in. Percy closed his eyes, he felt her lips brush against his. His heart raced. He reached his hand around her to pull her closer when his phone brought him back to reality.

BEEP BEEP BEEP. Percy felt around in his pocket for his phone, quickly silencing his alarm.

"I'm gonna go," Annabeth smile against his lips and pulled away. She reached for the door handle and was about to jump out of the car when Percy grabbed her arm. "I like you too," Percy smiled.

"Great," Annabeth smiled sarcastically and slammed to the door, leaving Percy perplexed by her response. She scolded herself and began walking towards the employee building. She would have run but remember reading in a national geographic book when she was six that running in the rain gets you 80% wetter.

 **PS. Would you guys rather I update less with longer chapters or more with short chapters like I'm doing right now?**

 **PPS. PSAT is tomorrow, wish me luck bitches**


	35. Chapter 35

**AN: I do not own any of the wonderful characters thought up by Rick Riordan. It's my first fanfiction and I would love not to get sued. Anyways, enjoy!**

Annabeth reached the door of her building soaking wet. She reached into her dress and pulled out her possessions. She flipped through her drenched cards, searching for her key card. _Debit Card, Fake ID,_ she listed _Key ca-_ _Where is it?_ Annabeth spread them out on the floor panicked. She only had two cards. She picked up her phone and quickly speed dialed Piper, hoping she would ditch Jason and come save her. Piper didn't answer. Annabeth picked up her cards and put them back in her dress. She leaned back against the doors leading into her building, hoping someone would come in or out soon. She slid down the door and texted Piper.

 **Locked out**

 **Call me when you get this**

She put her phone in her armpit, trying to keep it dry. After realizing it was 2:00am and that no one would be around for a while she picked her phone back up with the intention of calling Jason. Maybe Jason would answer and she could talk with Piper. She had dialed the number and was about to put the phone to her ear when she noticed something scribbled on her case.

212-984-3979

She ignored the phone number and resumed her call. Jason didn't answer. "What the fuckkk" Annabeth groaned. She turned her attention to the back of her phone. She wet her finger and attempted to rub off the message but to no result. Annabeth, already in her frustrated state, became quickly angry at Percy, who she suspected had ruined her case. She stood up and dialed the number. As soon as it started ringing she began pacing.

"Hello?" She heard a familiar voice answer.

"Percy-" Annabeth started, walking back and forth in the rain.

"Annabeth," She could imagine his lazy smile that melted her heart, _No!_ She reprimanded herself, _He melts nothing_! "I was wondering when you'd call. I have to say, I didn't think it would be so soon."

"Percy, what the fuck!" Annabeth yelled, an aggravated edge to her tone, "Why would you write on my case?"

"It's all part of my master plan," She could hear the amusement in his voice.

"Percy you can't-" the phone slipped out of her hand and landed hard on the gravel floor, creating a slight crack in the screen. "Awe fuckk!" Annabeth whined, trying to wipe away the water that had surely reached the inside of her phone.

"Annabeth?" She heard Percy.

"Sorry I dropped my phone and now it's all wet and cracked."

"Why is it wet?" Percy asked confused.

"Because it's raining…" Annabeth laid her hair strategically over her phone, attempting to prevent any further water damage.

"Are you outside?"

"What?" it took a second for Annabeth to process what he'd said, "Oh yeah, I'm locked out."

"What?" Annabeth mistook Percy's concern for confusion.

"I'm locked out," She explained exasperated, "like I don't have a key," Percy didn't say anything but she heard rummaging in the background. "Percy?"

"Hey," he returned to the phone, "sorry, I was grabbing an umbrella."

"Why?" Annabeth imagined how nice it would be to have an umbrella right now.

"I'm coming to get you." Percy answered simply.

"What?" Annabeth quickly objected, "No, Percy it's fine. Wow look at that I just found my key, no need to come down here."

"Where was the key?" he asked unbelieving.

"Under the…" Annabeth looked around for help, "doormat?"

"Funny." She heard a door slam on the other end.

"Percy it's seriously fine," She scrambled, "I like the rain. My roommates on her way here anyways… Percy?" She looked at her phone. He had already hung up. Annabeth sat down where she was, her legs extended out in front of her. She put her phone in her armpit again and watched the rain fall onto her recently shaved legs.

"Hey," Annabeth heard Percy yell after a few minutes. She perked up and saw him walked towards her, a big black umbrella over his shoulder. "Hi." Annabeth replied, slightly mortified at how disheveled she looked. She had after all been standing in the rain for over 20 minutes. Percy, realizing how wet she was, quickened his pace.

"Your roommate didn't answer huh?" Percy covered her with the umbrella.

"No!" Annabeth snapped, "She's coming… she's just caught in traffic." Percy held out a hand to help her up.

"Mhm," Percy agreed sarcastically, "Why don't you wait for her in my room?" Annabeth wanted to refuse. She wanted to say no, but… a warm room sounded amazing. "C'mon," Percy nudged her, "I'll even give you a fuzzy robe." Annabeth bit her lip, unable to decline the offer. She took his hand, pulling herself up.

"Fine," Annabeth huffed and took the umbrella defiantly. Percy let go, allowing her to lead the way. She instantly regretted it, the umbrella was incredibly heavy. Annabeth bit her tongue, working hard to hold the umbrella above both their heads as Percy was a good 6 inches taller than her. "I have a few questions for you first."

"Shoot." Percy pointed her in the direction of his building.

"Did you purposely leave my key card in the alley?" She stared at him with accusing eyes.

"No," he laughed, "do you honestly think I'd do that?" Annabeth waved off the question.

"Why'd you ruin my case by writing your number on it?"

Percy flashed her a smile, "Well, I figured you would have to call the number to find out who wrote it and then you'd have to call me again so I could buy you a new case."

"Quite a strategy,"

"Works every time." Percy shrugged nonchalantly. Annabeth felt a pang of hurt. She ignored the obvious question of when 'every time' was and instead asked,

"212, so you live in New York then?"

"Yep," Percy smiled proud, "born and raised."

"Are you only in California for the movie then?" she adjusted her grip on the umbrella

"No," he shuffled his feet, kicking the wet gravel, "I have a place down here for the summers, when I act."

"Otherwise you are…?"

"Manhattan," Percy filled in.

"Percy," Annabeth stopped, "We can't go in through the main doors."

"Why not?" Annabeth gave him a look, "Ohhh, right that whole not-being-able-to-date-guests thing."

"We're not dating," Annabeth clarified at his amused expression, "just friends."

"Same difference," Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"Either way," Annabeth said looking around for an alternate entrance, "if anyone sees us together, and in this," she motioned to her soaking dress, "I'm going to be in trouble."

"We could always use the backdoor." Percy suggested.

"That will probably work." Annabeth replied closing the umbrella, "We still have to be sneaky though."

"Then I should probably carry that umbrella." Percy said referring to the way Annabeth was dragging the end through the gravel. She shot him a look but handed him the umbrella.

 **Okay if I stick to my plan I should have about 20 ish long chapters left, and when I say long I mean loooooong.  
** **Okay maybe not that long but loong. That also means I will most likely not be able to post as frequently.  
Sorry my precious' but they will come soon enough. Don't worry, I have made a promise to not abandon this story.**


	36. Chapter 36

AN: I do not own any of the wonderful characters thought up by Rick Riordan. It's my first fanfiction and I would love not to get sued. Anyways, enjoy!

"16" Percy said as they both entered the elevator. Annabeth leaned forward and pressed the elevator button. They stood in silence watching the elevator climb floors.

"So New York,," Annabeth finally spoke, "What's that like?"

"Great," Percy replied, "I love manhattan and big cities but I miss the West coast beaches.

"You like the beach?"

"Mhm" Annabeth smiled at the obvious answer.

DING.

"After you," Percy held out an arm, leading Annabeth out of the elevator.

"Such a gentlemen," Annabeth rolled her eyes. Percy ignored the obvious sarcasm in her statement.

"So I'm guessing you don't live at this hotel," He pointed Annabeth in the direction of his room.

"No," she walked down the hall, noticing the ice room she'd hid in only a few days ago, "San Francisco. I live there with my dad and my stepmom and their two kids." They reached Percy's hotel room. He pulled the key card out of his wallet and unlocked the door.

"Your mom?" Percy pushed the door open, allowing her to enter first.

"It's complicated." She shrugged and sat down on the end of the bed, feeling much less crazy than the last time she'd been in the room. "What about you?" Annabeth tilted her head to the side.

"I live with," Percy set the dripping umbrella on the beige couch and took off his coat, "my mom and my stepfather." For a second his eyes turned cold, hard. But as fast as it arrived was there it was gone. He walked towards her, still wearing his ripped t-shirt.

"I think I might owe you a new shirt." Annabeth decided to change the subject.

"Why?" Percy stared down at his shirt. Annabeth stood up and ran her index finger along the exposed skin behind his left shoulder. "Oh," Percy grinned, not bothering to look, keeping his eyes on her instead. He leaned forward cupping her face gently in his hands. Their lips met briefly making Annabeth shiver.

"We shouldn't" She whispered into his lips.

"Why not?" he asked, pulling back, resting his forehead against hers.

"Percy" She smiled, her eyes still closed, "Seriously I cannot stress it enough, if we get caught I will lose my job,"

"I know," he sighed.

"Friends?" Annabeth resisted the urge to pull him against her.

"Friends don't kiss other friends in alleys." Percy reminded her, running his fingers through her hair, making her shudder.

"I did not initiate that kiss." Annabeth opened her eyes to see Percy watching her with bright green curious eyes.

"You didn't say no," He grinned, pressing his lips against her again. It took all of Annabeth's strength to pull away.

"A little more than friends" She suggested, half hoping he'd kiss her again.

"Secret friends," Percy wiggled his eyebrows at her and took a step back. He placed a hand on the small of her back, leading her towards the bed, "friends watch movies together, right?"

Annabeth cocked her head to the side, "Have you never had friends or something?" She laughed and climbed onto the bed. She jumped off, suddenly aware of how wet she still was. She shot Percy a questioning look.

He nodded, reading her mind, "I'll get you something." He walked over to one of the white dresser and pulled out a black in-n-out t-shirt. He tossed it to Annabeth who caught it across her chest.

"Pants?" Annabeth laughed.

"Here are your options, basket ball shorts, boxers and dress pants." he listed them out on his fingers.

"Boxers," Annabeth didn't have to think twice.

"Alright," he threw her a pair of blue boxers.

"Cute," Annabeth held up the boxers, showing off the rubber ducks that adorned them.

"My mom bought them," Percy shrugged. Annabeth held them to her chest and smiled.

"Bathroom?" Annabeth asked. Percy pointed to a door on her right. "Thanks," She said and walked in. She closed the door behind her and her eyes widened, crown molding trimmed the ceiling, the white tile beneath her was spotless white. She nearly dropped the Percy's clothes when her eyes reached the tub. She had never had a tub in her apartment. The only time she had ever taken a bath was at Piper's house, when she was house sitting. She ran her hand along the smooth edge of the marble tub. She closed her eyes and imagined taking a warm bubble bath. Her clothes felt so damp,so itchy, so-

"Annabeth?" Percy's voice interrupted her fantasy.

"Mm?" She opened her eyes, remembering where she was.

"What do you want to watch?" He called through the wall while Annabeth stripped off her muggy dress.

"Anything," she replied pulling on his boxers. Percy continued flipping through channels as she slipped on his t-shirt. It was big on her and ended right after her butt. She bent down to pick up her dress when she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She almost screamed. The rain had caused her hair, previously in silky curls, to frizz up into an afro like hairdo. Her makeup had been mostly washed away by the rain but some of it still clung to her face in all the wrong spots. She turned on the sink and wet her hands, desperately trying to rub the mascara off her cheeks. She was about to pat down her hair when she remembered who she was with, Percy Jackson. Sure, he made her incredibly nervous but she would never admit to it. If she felt nothing for him she shouldn't care what she looked like in front of him. She took a deep breath and put her hands down, deciding to let her hair be as frizzy as it wanted to be. She bent down to pick up her dress again and, even though she tried not to, peeked at herself in the mirror. She sighed, she did care. No you don't Annabeth, she told herself, okay maybe a little. She pulled a hair tie off her wrist and pulled her hair into her signature ponytail. She nodded to herself in the mirror accepting the fact that maybe she cared the tiniest bit, grabbed her dress and walked out of the bathroom.

"How do I look?" Annabeth did a spin.

"Great," he smiled sleepily and patted the bed next to him. Annabeth hopped onto the bed and got under the covers next to him ignoring the butterflies dancing around in her stomach, you only care the teensiest bit she reassured herself, though she wasn't sure she believed it.

"So what are we watching?" Annabeth asked once she had positioned herself a safe distance from Percy. She looked over at him and caught him staring.

"Um," he quickly averted his eyes to the TV, "I was thinking we could watch Triple Risk or Master of Surrender, maybe Rose of Dreams." Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"Percy, aren't those all your movies?" Annabeth asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Whhaat?" Percy mocked surprise, "I had no idea." He said standing up from the bed, "I'm just kidding. We can wat-"

"Percy where are you going?" She cut him off.

"Popcorn," he smiled and walked over to the microwave. He picked a bag of popcorn up out of the complimentary items basket and unwrapped it. "Do you like scary movies?" He asked he placing the popcorn in the microwave and setting the time.

"Yes," Annabeth said over the hum of the microwave.

"Have you seen the Blair Witch Project?" he crossed his arms across his chest and leaned back against the kitchen counter.

"No," Annabeth replied, working hard to keep her eyes off his strong arms.

"Do you want to?"

"Do I want to what?" Distracted by the way his shoulder muscles flexed when he held himself up. Her eyes moved up to his mouth as he spoke, his full lips curled into a smirk, his light stubble, mussed hair-

"Like what you see?" Percy teased, she was obviously checking him out.

"Ye-no-I don't-" Annabeth stuttered, tearing her eyes away from him, "Want to what?" She cocked her head to the side, pretending she'd been paying attention.

"Watch the Blair Witch Project?" he laughed.

"Oh," The microwave beeped, "sure," Percy took the popcorn out, tossing it from one hand to the other.

"It's hot," he explained when Annabeth gave him a weird look. He put the bag on the counter and opened a cabinet, pulling out a plastic bowl. He poured the popcorn into the bowl and returned to the bed. Percy handed Annabeth the popcorn, which she immediately began to devour, she hadn't eaten in since lunch. He fought a chuckle and sat down on top of the covers, not wanting to scare her off. He picked up the remote and with one button turned off the lights and another started the movie.

"Wow," Annabeth looking around the room, seemingly amazed. This time he couldn't help it, he started laughing. She looked over at him and playfully hit his shoulder. The both went quiet as the movie began. Annabeth kept her eyes on the screen the whole time, even though she could feel Percy's eyes on her.


	37. Chapter 37

**AN: I do not own any of the wonderful characters thought up by Rick Riordan. It's my first fanfiction and I would love not to get sued. Anyways, enjoy!**

Percy woke to Annabeth slapping him in the face in her sleep. "Ow!" he groaned looking to see what hit him. On his right side lay Annabeth, curled into a ball, soundly sleeping. Her blonde curls were draped across his arm. He wriggled his arm out from underneath her, careful not to disturb her slumber and turned onto his left side to check the time on his phone.

 **10:37am**

Percy saw he had one new email and opened his inbox.

 **Percy,**

 **Merial got food poisoning.**

 **Filming cancelled**

 **-Tom**

He smiled contently and wrapped an arm around Annabeth, overcome by a desire to resume his rest. She snuggled up against him, "I do wa-a go," She mumbled into his chest, "Piper stop." Percy's smile grew wider as he watched her cute subconscious rambling, "No, Jace we're…" he stroked her hair, "work." he stopped suddenly, the word hitting him like a delayed pile of bricks. Annabeth was probably late for work!

"Annabeth?" he sang with a degree of urgency.

"I don't e-en nee-" Annabeth sleep grumbled, squishing her face with her hands.

"Annabeth," he said more forcefully this time,

"Piper-joe no-"

"Annabeth!" he shook her. Annabeth's eyes shot open, suddenly awakened.

"What?" she replied crankily, realizing who was speaking.

"It's 10:30," he motioned to the clock next on his bedside table.

"So what?" Annabeth whined but before Percy could answer she snapped up and jumped out of the bed, "Fuck!" She leaned against a wall, stabilizing herself. She'd stood up too fast. "I'm so so so late!" She ran around looking for her dress which contained her phone. She desperately hoped Piper had answered her texts. She finally found her phone. She opened it. No missed calls, no texts, no nothing. She frowned, it might have been common for Piper to be late but it was unlike her to miss work altogether. She closed her phone and reopened to home screen to check the time again.

 **10:46**

 **Thursday, July 14th.**

Annabeth let out a loud sigh of relief. It was Thursday, her day off. She fell back onto the bed, breathing heavily. "Um Annabeth," Percy crawled over the bed and poked her cheek, "work?"

"It's my day off," she closed her eyes and willed her body to go back to sleep.

"What are your plans?" Percy asked, coming up with 101 things he and Annabeth could do together.

"Sleep," she replied in a monotone voice slightly muffled by a pillow.

"C'mon" Percy said, playfully pushing her off the bed, "let's do something fun"

"Let's sleep,"

"Together?" Percy raised an eyebrow, "because I'm down." Annabeth rolled her eyes internally and slapped his arm. "Annabeth," he pouted his lips, "aren't you hungry?"

"No," Annabeth shrugged but her stomach growled in disagreement.

"Eggs and bacon?" he laughed. Annabeth didn't look overly enthused, "Hash Browns?" She didn't even crack an eyelid, "Pancakes?" He suggestion elicited a small smile, "you want pancakes." He decided and strolled lazily to the small hotel kitchen sorting through the cabinets.

"I know for a fact you will not find any pancake mix in there," Annabeth yawned as she got up from the bed.

"I'll go get some then," Percy picked up his keys and wallet off the kitchen counter, "there's a-"

Annabeth held out an arm and stopped him,"Percy, it's fine," She walked over to the mini fridge, "I can just have…" she pried it open, "ketchup, whisky and ham?" She raised an eyebrow at Percy, letting the fridge door fall shut.

"I like ham," he shrugged. Annabeth opened her mouth to argue but before she could say anything Percy bent down and gave her a quick peck on the cheek, "you should shower," Percy grinned, "a lesser man might say you look like a panda,"

"What?" Annabeth chuckled nervously, unsure what he was referring to.

"A pretty panda," he pushed past Annabeth's still outstretched arm and turned the knob on the front door, "but still a panda."

He shut the door, leaving Annabeth to wonder what he'd meant. She sighed. She didn't want to give Percy the satisfaction of knowing he was right but a warm shower sounded heavenly. Annabeth crossed her arms across her chest and tapped her foot lightly against the hardwood floor, weighing her options. She glanced at the bathroom door.

It was slightly ajar, showing off the beautiful marble bath tub. _Ooo I could take a bath_ , Annabeth tilted her head to the side and pictured her body enveloped in warm luxurious bubbles, _No, he said shower, not a bath_! She shook her head, scolding herself. _But a bath would be so nice_ , she heard a voice in the back of her head. _No._ She said firmly, deciding against it. She was a guest in Percy's room. It would be impolite to use his bathroom as she pleased.

She walked into the bathroom, ignoring the ever tempting gleam of the bathtub and turned on the shower. In no time at all, it was steaming hot. She pulled off her comfy clothes and set them on the bathroom counter. She rubbed the eye boogers out of the corner of her eyes and smiled at herself in the mirror. Her smile vanished the minute she realized what Percy had meant when he'd called her a panda. Even though she had washed her face the night before, residue mascara had created dark circles around her eyes. Annabeth shook her head. Panda. She would never be able to look at the bear the same way. Annabeth showered as quickly as possible, hoping she would be out before Percy got home. Unfortunately however, she was distracted by the enormous amount of decorative soaps and by the time she exited the shower, Percy was already flipping pancakes.

"Hey," Annabeth walked out of the bathroom, drying her hair with a towel. She had put Percy's clothes back on after the shower.

"Hey," Percy carefully transferred a pancake from pan to plate.

"Need any help?" asked Annabeth, a small smile painted her face as she observed the breakfast Percy had laid out for the two of them. On the white wooden table he had set two cheap looking place mats, utensils, napkins, and glasses.

"Nope," he slid a plate of pancakes over to her.

"Percy?" She pursed her lips, "Why are they blue?" She asked, staring down at the strange stack of pancakes.

"Oh," Percy turned off the stove and sauntered over, his pancakes in one hand and the maple syrup in another, "I'm not sure," he shrugged, peering down at the pancakes in front of him, "I guess everything just tastes better when it's blue," Annabeth nodded slowly

"Hm," she mused.

"What?"

"I'm just trying to figure out if it's cute or if it's a red flag." Annabeth replied, sitting down across from him.

"Blue flag," Percy grinned as he cut himself a big piece of pancake. Annabeth poured the maple syrup over her pancakes and took a big bite. _Pretty good_ , she thought herself and took another bite. She looked up after three or four more colossal bites, Percy was staring.

"What?" She smiled through a mouthful of blue pancake. Percy swallowed his bite and grinned.

"Do you like them?" he asked, though he could already tell from her wide smile and bright eyes.

"They're really good," Annabeth chewed.

"So," Percy pushed pieces of his pancake around with his fork, "do you mind if I ask you something?"

"No," Annabeth smiled and shrugged, "I'm pretty sure nothing you ask can ruin these pancakes."

"Why did you and Luke break up?"

"Oh," Annabeth swallowed hard and took a sip of milk before answering, "It's… kind of a long story,"

"It's fine," he balanced his fork on the edge of his plate, "you don't have to tell me."

"No, no," Annabeth picked up her head but was still unable to meet his eyes, "you're my fake boyfriend. You probably deserve to know." She put her fork down and clasped her hands together under the table, unsure where to begin.

"Luke and I have known each other for a long time. We first met through Thalia. She'll deny it if you ask but I know they used to have a thing. I found photos of them together." Annabeth kept her eyes on a light fixture behind Percy. "So, slowly, overtime Luke and I became friends and then we became more than friends. I was just a sophomore and he was this amazing upperclassmen. At the beginning I was so happy but he started to change. He became more possessive, wanted to know what I was doing, who I was talking to. I figured he was just protective because he loved me."

Annabeth felt a lump in the back of her throat but she pushed past it and kept going, "Then, one day, he didn't go to school because he was 'sick,'" she air quoted, "and his parents were out of town. I had just returned early from a vacation and wanted to surprise him," Annabeth felt her face getting hot, she no longer felt any sadness when she looked back on their relationship, only anger. It still made her boil inside just to tell the story.

"I knocked, but no one answered so I let myself in. I walked into his bedroom and there he was with Heather, a friend of mine from school." Percy watched Annabeth tell the story, frightened by her vacant eyes, "I was so shocked. I didn't saw a word. I stumbled downstairs and sobbed. Then he came downstairs completely naked and tried to explain himself. He told me he still loved me, that he was lonely, that it wasn't what it looked like."

"What did you say?" Percy questioned in a quiet cautious voice.

"I threw up on him," Annabeth said with a humorless chuckle. Under different circumstances Percy might have laughed but the devastation Luke had caused Annabeth didn't seem like something he wanted to joke about, "he called me a hundred times but I didn't answer, I couldn't bare to hear his lying voice. The next day Thalia, another friend of mine, practically waterboarded one of his football friends for the truth. The web of lies began to unravel after that. I ended up finding out he had cheated on me not once, not twice but eight separates times.

"Eight times," Percy whispered in disbelief. Annabeth was amazing. Who would ever risk losing her?

"Not eight times, eight girls." Annabeth finally met Percy's gaze, speaking in a monotone voice she continued, "he had cheated on me with eight different girls." Annabeth took a big bite of blue pancake, "one of them Drew, a girl who'd never been nice to me. A girl who he'd told me he hated" she shook her head, desperate to change the subject, "your da-"

"Have you ever been on a boat?" Percy asked standing up suddenly.

"Percy I live in California, not Kentucky," She raised an eyebrow at him, "of course I've been on a boat."

"You may have been on a boat before," Percy began cleaning up, "but you've never been on _my_ boat before." Annabeth rolled her eyes, _of course he owns a boat_.

"Percy," She finished her pancakes and helped him clear the table, "I don't even have a bathing suit."

"You can just wear what you wore on Tuesday," He shrugged. She whacked his arm with her plate, careful not to spill any of the excess syrup. "C'mon, Annabeth," he beamed, his eyes tempting her as he rubbed his bicep where she'd hit him. "We could have so much fun," Annabeth pretended to be thinking, even though she'd already made up her mind, "just you, me and miles and miles of Pacific Ocean." She smiled, mystified by Percy's ability to take her mind off of Luke, off of her troubles. "Yes?" he shook her shoulders.

"Yes," She laughed, steadying herself, "I lied, I have a bathing suit in my room but that means I have to get a new key from the front desk."

"Perfect," he grinned, "I'll meet you outside your building in," he paused for a moment, thinking, "30 minutes?"

"Sounds good," Annabeth replied, handing Percy the plate she was still holding. She picked up her still damp blue dress from the night before and walked out of the hotel room with a quick wave.

She rode the elevator down to the lobby. As she traveled down she tried to make herself look more presentable and less walk-of-shamey. She held her blue dress beside her in such a way that one might mistake it as a bag, if they weren't very observant. The elevator dinged and the doors opened to the employee filled, brightly lit lobby. She took a deep breath and strode over to the front desk. She kept her head down in case one of the supervisors was around. She arrived at the counter and lifted her head, only to be met with a pair of smug blue eyes.

"Jesus," Annabeth rolled her eyes and considered turning back, "Are you stalking me? How are you always around?" She asked irritated.

"Walk of shame?" he asked with a sour smile.

"No," she snapped, "I'm just locked out of my room. I need a new key card."

"You know, if you and your boyfriend want to fuck, it's probably better to do it somewhere else." His voice was too loud for Annabeth's liking.

"Luke!" Annabeth hissed, "Just give me my key card."

"I'll have to see your ID card." Luke replied, his voice void of emotion.

"Don't have it," Annabeth explained, running her fingers through her curly hair, "left it in the room."

"I can't give you a key card then," he pouted his lips and mocked sadness.

"Luke!" Annabeth snarled, "You know who I am, just give me my fucking key."

"Fine," Luke replied coolly, "Room number?"

"107B," He shuffled around behind the counter preparing the key then held it out to Annabeth when it was ready. She reached her hand forward to grab it but just as her fingertips touched it, he snatched it away.

"You know if you get caught with Percy you'll get fired right?" He spit.

"Awe," Annabeth put a hand over her heart, "you remembered his name," He grasped her arm tightly. She clenched her jaw when his nails dug into her wrist.

"I could tell Bill," he cocked his head to the side, a dark smirk playing at his lips, "you would get fired and wouldn't have anywhere to go."

"Maybe," Annabeth jerked her arm back, "but then you wouldn't be able to harass me everyday," she pulled the key card out of his stiff fingers and walked out the lobby without looking back. If she had glanced back, she might have seen Luke, as he hurriedly scribbled her room number onto the inside of his wrist.


	38. Chapter 38

**AN: I do not own any of the wonderful characters thought up by Rick Riordan. It's my first fanfiction and I would love not to get sued. Anyways, hope you enjoy.**

 **Also, there will be sex in this chapter so if you don't like it don't read it.**

"I'm trying to remain hidden," Annabeth replied defensively, pulling her blue baseball cap down over her eyes.

"This one," he pointed to a sleek looking wakeboard boat, "my baby." Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"And I'm the weird one," she laughed. Percy helped her on the boat and began to untie the ropes. Annabeth watched him, "how long have you owned the boat?"

"A year or two,"

"Percy," Annabeth gaped, "you're 17. How do you so casually own a boat?" He shrugged and jumped into the driver's seat. **AN: I'm sorry if diver's seat isn't the right term but I told know nothing about boats.** He started the engine, pulling them out of the dock with a jolt, "You have a license right?" Annabeth gulped nervously.

"Annabeth," he looked over at her, imploring her to relax. Annabeth threw her arms up in the air, understanding and sat down on the cushions in the front of the boat. She stared out into the open waters as Percy sped up, traveling in line with the waves. She took off her hat and held it in her lap. Annabeth closed her eyes and felt the hot sun against her face, the wind separating her curls and cold breeze against her body. She balanced her chin on the edge of the boat, listening to the wind whistle through her hair. She opened her mouth slightly, taking a deep breath in and received a mouthful of seawater. "Percy," she turned around and glared. He snickered and smiled innocently. They only traveled a few more meters before Percy slowed down the boat. Annabeth looked around, nothing but ocean in sight. She squinted, holding her hand up to block out the sunlight. If she focused she could see the beach and it's brightly colored umbrellas. She reached down, over the side of the boat and felt the cold water lapping at her fingertips.

"Do you want to swim?" Percy asked pulling off his shirt. Annabeth turned to face him, her eyes drawn to his tan body. She'd never seen him in proper lighting. Now that she had, she understood why he'd been featured in so many magazines. She licked her lips as she watched his chest muscles tighten when he reached his arms above his head. He noticed her wandering eyes and smirked. She ripped her eyes from his chest, blushing a bit.

"Yeah," she replied quietly, scolding herself sightly. She lifted her t-shirt over her head, revealing flat stomach and white billabong bikini top. Annabeth unbuttoned her jean shorts and shimmed them down her legs. She put her clothes in her bag and neatly tucked her hat away next to her phone. She simpered, feeling Percy's eyes on her. She stood up, ready to tease him they way he'd done earlier that morning when her phone rang. She rummaged around her bag and pulled it out. "Sorry," she turned to Percy, "It's Piper, she get's crazy worried,"

"Don't worry about it," he smiled and waved it off. Annabeth put her ear to the phone faced the ocean. Out of her peripheral she saw Percy stare at her backside, smile and then shake his head.

"Hey Piper," The smile was clear in Annabeth's voice. She was grateful Piper had forced her to accompany her during her morning runs, the once a month she actually remembered.

"Oh my gods," She could hear Piper pacing in the background, "I'm so so sorry. My phone died and I didn't charge it until right now,"

"It's fine," Annabeth glanced at Percy who was letting down the deck ladder, considering how different her day might have gone if Piper had answered her phone.

"Where did you sleep?" Piper asked, suspicious of her friend's calm nature, "the bottom bunk is exactly how I left it,"

"Percy's," Annabeth spoke quickly, "I'm with him now Piper, I have to go,"

"Annabeth!" Piper half screamed half squealed into the phone, "Don't hang up! You have to tell me what's happening! Ahhhh my best friend is dating a movie star!"

"We're not dating and I have to go," she didn't breath between her words, not wanting to leave any pause for Piper to interject, "Talk to you later." She hung up the phone and put it back into her bag. "Sorry," she apologized again to Percy who was sitting leisurely on one of the long seats facing the back of the boat, "She gets super super worried when I don't answer my phone." Percy raised a questioning eyebrow, "I don't know," Annabeth answered the question he was about to ask, "I guess she think I'm gonna get kidnapped or something."

"I could see why," Percy stood up, wrapping an arm around Annabeth's bare waist, "I'd kidnap you." he kissed her lightly just below her jaw.

"Yeah," Annabeth tipped her head back as he nibbled at her neck, "probably not the best thing to say to someone who you just took into the middle of the ocean,"

"Mhh," he replied into her neck with a low chuckle. He pulled back, "let's swim." he said, a wide smile coloring his face. Annabeth couldn't help but smile back. She walked over to the edge of the boat and stuck one toe in, testing the water. It was warm enough. She was about to submerge her foot when she felt a pair of strong hands grip her midsection.  
"Percy!" She giggled as he came dangerously close to her ticklish spots. He held her tightly, lifted her up and dangled her over the water, "Percy no! Put me do-" she attempted to yell, but Percy had already thrown her in. She felt the cold water surround her body. She kicked her legs and came up for air. Annabeth wiped the hair off of her face and glared at Percy. "You better jump in," Annabeth yelled at Percy who was still standing on the boat, watching her with obvious amusement. He grinned and cannon balled into the water next to her, the splash sent her reeling back. Percy emerged gracefully from the water, pushing his dark hair out of his eyes. He swam towards Annabeth who whipped her arm across the surface of the water and splashed him.

"You're dead," he chased after her as she splashed him again. Annabeth soon realized the water had no effect on him and began swimming away as fast as she could. He caught up easily, playfully pushing her underwater. She pushed him back, though not as gently. Soon enough they were both underwater. She stared at him across the blue green water that was so similar to his eyes. He reached around her head, touching her hair lightly. She felt heat run through her body and leaned forward into it. The water around her seemed suddenly unbearably cold. She cupped his stubbled cheeks in her hands and kissed his soft lips. She was about to pull back and come up for air when she felt his big hand loop around her back, pulling her into him. She smiled against his lips and he smiled back. She felt like she could stay like that for hours, content never coming up to the surface again. But alas, they were not demigods, they had to come up for air at some point. A few seconds later Annabeth reached that point and pushed Percy away, tipping her head up and heading for the light. She broke the surface and gasped for air. Percy came up beside her, laughing. The sound rang through Annabeth's ears, making her smile. She laid back against the water, letting her body float peacefully. Annabeth closed her eyes and took a deep breath in, enjoying the way the ocean gently splashed her shoulders. Percy took advantage of her closed eyes as he admired her body. He'd seen so so many movie stars, singers, models, they were all the same, all gorgeous. But there was something different about Annabeth's beauty, he'd noticed it the first time they'd spoken. It fet more… real. It was the way her grey eyes gleamed when she became excited; the way she made no effort to tame her dense curls; the way her eyes crinkled in the corners when she was trying not to smile; the way she rolled her- Annabeth peeked an eye open.

"What?" She inquired quietly, interrupting his train of thought.

"Nothing," replied Percy, quickly averting his eyes.

"Sure," Annabeth rolled her eyes resulting in a dopey smile from Percy. She laughed. "Do you come out here often?" She asked as she began treading water.

"I try to," Percy looked out into the ocean, "It's hard when I have so much stuff going on." Annabeth nodded. She kept her eyes on Percy, waiting for him to meet her gaze.

"I bet you bring all the girls out here," She joked.

"No," Percy lowered his eyes, "Just the special ones," Annabeth felt herself blush. They both fell silent.

"Have you ever driven a boat before?" Percy asked finally, breaking the growing tension.

"No," Annabeth replied, receiving a wide smile from Percy.

"Well Annabeth Chase," he swam backwards towards the boat, his eyes never leaving hers, "today's the day you learn."

"Percy," Annabeth protested, following him onto the boat, "I really don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not?" He asked, pulled himself up the ladder and reached out a hand to help Annabeth up. She swatted away and got up on her own.

"Because... " Annabeth pursed her lips, "trust me,"

"No," Percy leaned back against the driver's seat. "tell me," a curious smile dancing on his face.

"There's nothing to tell," Annabeth lied. Percy gave her a pointed look,"I just have a bad feeling about it, that's all."

"Mhm," Percy hummed, unconvinced, "Let's go," he picked Annabeth up by the waist and plopped her down in the captain's seat before she could object. She squirmed in his arms.

"Percy," he was surprised by her serious tone, "If you care about your boat, you won't make me drive it."

"Annabeth," he stood behind the chair and reached his head over it to whisper into her ear, "was that a threat?"

Annabeth shrugged, "I wouldn't recommend you find out."

"I care quite a lot actually," he kept his hands on either side of her. His breath tickled her ear, "so don't fuck up," Annabeth frowned, repressing a shudder.

"Percy," she whined as he placed her hands on either side of the wheel.

"It's like driving a car," Percy kept his voice soft, soothing, "but on water." He felt Annabeth hands tighten on the wheel.

"I've never driven a car on water-Percy!" She snapped as she felt one of his hands leave hers and the boat roar to life.

"Calm down," he laughed as she peered at him, her eyes full of worry, "I just started the engine,"

"Percy," Annabeth stared nervously at the sea, "what if I sink the boat? Or if I run into something?"

"Annabeth," he motioned around them, "there's nothing to run into." He sat down next to her, controlling the speed. Annabeth complained for a while but soon enough she became comfortable with the boat, controlling the speed herself. She would speed up and boat and then slow it back down, enjoying the feeling of control. The wind tickled her neck and she giggled. Percy watched her with a lazy smile, as he sat on the left side seat. "See," he shouted over the wind, "It's not so bad,"

"Guess not," Annabeth glanced at him and he stood up.

"I knew you could do it," he walked towards her and gave her a kiss, "Do you want something to drink?" he asked.

"Water," Annabeth replied, slowing the boat a bit. He nodded in understanding and walked to the cooler in the back of the boat. She tried to keep her eyes on the water in front of her but couldn't help but watch Percy. He looked _too_ good. She kept one hand on the steering wheel as she observed him. The ocean waters had done him wonders. His midnight hair was slicked back, his skin glowed in the sunlight, his dark tan made his eyes appear brighter than usual. Annabeth stared at his strong shoulders as he bent over, reaching into the red cooler. He resembled a greek god. Percy grabbed a bottle of water and a soda, closed the cooler and turned back around to face Annabeth. She whipped her head back, trying to pretend like she hadn't seen anything, only to see a man made wave coming straight towards them.

Annabeth panicked, unsure what to do. She swerved to the left. The water crashed into the side of the boat, rocking the entire vehicle. The boat dipped low, causing water to spill over the right side. Annabeth kept forward and sighed, relieved she hadn't sunk yet another boat. "I'm so sorry Percy," she apologized frantically, "my bad… Actually, I told you not to let me drive the boat so your bad." She glanced behind her, surprised not to hear a witty comeback. Her breath caught in her throat, both Percy and the cooler had disappeared. "FUCK!" She cried out. Annabeth turned the engine off and stood up, looking for Percy in the water around her. She was about to cry when she caught a glimpse of something bright red. _THE COOLER!_ She turned the engine back on and raced towards it at full speed. She slowed as she approached it, not wanting to run Percy over by accident. The cooler was floating a few yards away from her but Percy was not where to be seen. "PERCY!" Annabeth yelled desperately. She turned off the engine. "PERCY!" She called again. No one replied. Annabeth didn't know what else to do, she dove off the side of the boat, madly searching for Percy. "Shit shit shit!" Annabeth rubbed her eyes, _I killed him_ , she thought, _I killed Perc-_ "Ahhh," Annabeth screamed as someone tackled her from behind. She turned around to face her attacker with crazed eyes.

"Hey," Percy was treading water, smirking. She let out a long breath of relief before tightening her jaw and letting out a hot breath of fury.

"WHAT THE FUCK PERCY!?" She pushed him hard, "THAT'S NOT FUNNY! THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD!"

"Annabeth," he put his hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down. She slapped his hand away.  
"Percy," she spoke slightly quieter, "Why would you scare me like that?"  
"I'm sorry," he laughed nervously. He hadn't realized how much it would affect her.  
"Percy," she was so angry, so relieved. She was on the brink of tears, the emotions overwhelming her.

"Annabeth," Percy noticed the tears gleaming in her eyes, "I'm really sorry." he swam forward and wrapped his arms around her, enveloping her in his warmth. "It was supposed to be a joke," Annabeth took a deep breath, trying to calm her irregular heartbeat. "I'm sorry," he pulled her out of the hug and cupped her face, bringing it close to his. Annabeth had her eyes closed. She clutched him tightly, not wanting it to be a dream,

"I was so scared Percy," she said in barely a whisper, "I was so worried.

"About me?" he teased, hoping to lighten the mood.

"No," she said with a small smile, "I was worried I'd be charged with manslaughter."

"Are you sure?" he breathed. Annabeth opened her eyes, his lips dangerously close to hers.

"I was not worried about you" Annabeth tried to shake her head but he held her still.

"Really because I could have sworn you just jump-" Annabeth jumped forward, crashing her lips onto Percy's. Percy fell back, surprised by the sudden attack. She felt him chuckle, encircling her with his strong arms.

"Stop laughing," she mumbled into his lips. His chest rumbled. Annabeth pulled back, "It's not funny," she said with a pout.  
"It's a little funny," Percy tried to pull her back in but she turned her cheek, "Annabeth," Percy cooed into her ear.

She frowned, resisting the urge to kiss him, "Percy, you shouldn't joke about that stuff"

Percy softly turned her chin to face him, his eyes suddenly serious, "I know," he said quietly, "I'm sorry, I don't know what I would have done if you'd fallen off the boat."

"Why? Do you care about me?" Annabeth joked, though she was anxious to hear his answer.

"Of course I care about you," he said without a second thought. Annabeth felt her heart soar, "You know, you're cute when you're worried about me." Percy smiled smugly. She pushed his chest but he trapped her hand against his body, this time successfully resuming their kiss. Annabeth slipped a hand up his shoulder, cupping the back of his neck. Percy lips tasted like sea water but she didn't mind. Her other hand made it's way down his hard chest, feeling the smooth ridges of his abdomen. They were both kicking each other in the attempt to tread water so close. Percy grabbed the back of Annabeth's thighs and brought her legs around his hips, solving the problem. Annabeth was amazed at his ability to keep them both afloat using only his legs.

"I feel bad," Annabeth said pulling away breathlessly. Her eyes were still closed, her forehead resting against Percy's.

"About what?" replied Percy, obviously confused.

"You're swimming for the both of us," she opened one eye and peered at Percy. His eyes were shut, mouth slightly ajar, lips swollen and inviting.

"Don't worry, I'm pretty strong." he smirked.

"Let's just get on the boat." Annabeth rolled her eyes but smiled at his comment.

"Fine," groaned Percy, opening his eyes. He lowered his face to Annabeth's, once again capturing her lips with his. He used his legs to carry them to deck. He unraveled a hand from Annabeth's hair to pull down the ladder. He sat her down on the last rung. Annabeth's threw her head back, as his hot lips burned a trail of fire along her collarbone. Annabeth momentarily observing the blue sky above her, allowing her eyes to flutter shut. His hands skimmed down her body as Annabeth met his lips once again. She stood up a little, using her arms to hoist herself up another rung. She wrapped one arm around Percy's neck, holding him close, kissing him fiercely. She used the other to push herself up a little farther. Percy understood what she was trying to do and picked her up at the waist, placing her gently on the back deck of the boat, quickly following himself. Percy pushed Annabeth onto her back, her toes still dangling over the edge of the boat. Annabeth gripped his shoulders, pulling his body flush to hers and felt his firm erection press down on her legs. She slowly rolled her hips against his and felt him harden against her. Percy let out a low groan that was quickly swallowed up by their kisses. Annabeth slipped her hands between their bodies, trying to undo the knot that held together Percy's blue swim trunks. She fumbled for a few seconds before breaking their kiss to focus her attention on the wet drawstrings.

"Annabeth," Percy suppressed a groan as she unhitched the knot, freeing his large cock.

"Mhh" She said reaching her hand into his pants to stroke it.

"Are you sure?" He stared down at her. Annabeth nodded up at him with innocent looking eyes. He bent down and kissed her feverishly, barely able to control himself. "Here?" Annabeth eyes searched the boat.

"There," she nodded her head in the direction of the cushioned seating. Percy got up quickly and almost ran to the front of the boat. Annabeth followed close behind him. He turned around to ask her about positions but she shoved him down onto the cushions, kissing him senseless. He watched her sit up, her legs sprawled on either side of his thighs. She bowed down, her hands firmly on his chest as she kissed down his body. He shuddered when she reached his pelvic bone. She looped her fingers on the sides of his swim trunks. Percy lifted his hips up so that she was able to remove them completely. Annabeth bit her lip, trying not to ogle at Percy's 9 inch dick. She raised her eyes to Percy's and saw a flash of pride in his eyes. Annabeth shook her head slightly. She felt Percy's hands around her back, fumbling with the knot of her swimsuit top. She leaned into him, giving his arms more reach. Soon enough, Annabeth was topless. Her heart beat quickly, a moment of subconsciousness catching up with her. All her doubts were erased the minute she saw Percy's lazy smile and dangerously dark eyes. She stood up quickly, tossing her bikini bottoms onto the floor. She climbed back onto Percy.

"Condom?" Percy asked alarmed between kisses as she mounted him.

"On birth control." Annabeth stated brushing his lips with hers one last time before sinking down on his thick cock. They both let out a choppy breath and Annabeth swallowed hard. "Fu-uck" she exhaled, taking a second to adjust to his size. She threw her head back as she rolled her hips around his throbbing member. She started slow but soon quickened the pace, riding him hard. She could feel an already orgasm growing in her stomach. Percy felt her pussy suddenly tighten as Annabeth cried out in pleasure. "Oh fuck," she gasped, her cunt fluttering wildly around his cock, her body spasming and finally slumping onto his, his dick still inside her.

Percy grinned, determined to get another orgasm out of her. He pulled out and swiftly flipped them over so he was on top. Before she had time to wonder what he was doing he was already plunging into her. Annabeth arched her back, her moans muffled into Percy's neck. She dragged her nails down his back as he pounded into her. His heavy balls making a loud noise as they slapped against her ass. Percy felt himself nearing his end as Annabeth felt a second orgasm growing. Percy slipped a hand between to finger her clitoris, pleased at the way her face contorted as he thrust into her.

"Do you want me to pull out?" he groaned, as Annabeth orgasmed. Her pulsating pussy pulling Percy over the edge with her.

"No," She screamed, "Oh gods!" His thrusts became erratic as he came, jerking his cum deeper inside of her. They both finished, panting. Percy tried to roll over to lay next to Annabeth but fell off the couch. "Percy are you okay?" Annabeth shot her head in his direction and watched him jump back up.

"Yep," he replied slightly embarrassed. Annabeth glanced down at his cum slicked dick and the reality of what they had just done dawned on her. Percy laid down on the the floor next to the cushion. They were both silent, watching the clouds pass and the seagulls fly by.

 **Okay so the chapters will be about this long from now on. And I'm going to post at least once a week.**


	39. Chapter 39

**AN: I do not own any of the wonderful characters thought up by Rick Riordan. It's my first fanfiction and I would love not to get sued. Anyways, hope you enjoy.**

"Percy," Annabeth finally spoke, "What does this mean?"

"What do you mean?" Percy eyed her curiously.

"What is this?" She lulled her head to face him.

"Annabeth come here," Percy patted the floor next to him. Annabeth gave him a pointed look. He patted the floor once again. She hesitantly stood up, the chilling wind a quick reminder that she was still naked, and laid down next to Percy. He pulled her closer so her head was resting on his chest and her arm strewn across his abdomen, "What do you want this to be?"

"Percy," Annabeth spoke cautiously, lightly tracing his chest muscles with her index finger, "I like you."

"I like you too," murmured into her hair.

"But we can't date so… " Annabeth felt Percy's arm tighten around her.

"Why can't we date?" Percy peered down at her, narrowing his eyes.

"My job, your job, Claire and about a hundred other reasons," Annabeth tried not get distracted by the way he smelled; like sex and seawater.

"What are our other options?"

"We can go back to how it was. Be smart, pretend this never happened." Percy made a sound of disapproval. "Or we can continue to be… friends."

"Secret friends," Percy corrected her with a soft smile, bringing to his lips to hers.

"Percy," Annabeth pulled away, her eyes still closed, "You understand that this can't go on. When summer ends, this ends too," She whispered, "it has to."

"I know," Annabeth sensed a twinge of sadness in his voice.

"Until then," Annabeth tried to lighten the mood, "I like you, you like me. Let's have some fun." She pulled herself out of Percy's arms and crawled back onto him, straddling his lap. She swept her hair to the side and bent down, hovering her lips over his. She felt Percy tense up.

"Did you hear that?" He hissed, his eyes wide.

"No," replied Annabeth without pausing. She sucked at Percy's neck, willing him to relax. He sat up suddenly, had he not wrapped his arms around her, Annabeth would have fallen backwards. "What?" Annabeth asked alarmed. He put a finger to his lips, gesturing for her to be quiet. She held her breath, listening. She heard a series of hums and clicks. "What is that?" She turned to Percy as the noises became louder.

"Annabeth," he jumped up, leaving her on the floor alone, "stay down." he searched frantically around the boat. He threw her bathing suit. "Put it on." he almost yelled as he pulled his own on. Annabeth follow his instructions and stood up once she was done.

"Percy what is going on-" Annabeth didn't get to finish, the boat engine roared over the end of her sentence. Annabeth felt lurched forward as Percy began to speed up. He glanced behind them. Annabeth followed his eyes. Following them were four cheap looking speed boats.

"Paparazzi," Percy shouted as the distance between them grew. By the time they reached the dock, the paparazzi were out of sight. "They always find me," Percy shook his head slightly, helping Annabeth onto to solid ground.

"Percy," Annabeth shifted nervously, "If those pictures get out I'm gonna lose my job and I _need_ my job."

"Why?" Percy asked, furrowing his brow.  
"Why what?" Annabeth asked, still frowning.

"Why do you need your job _so_ bad?"

"It's complicated Percy," she tapped her foot on the wooden dock, anxious to move on to a new topic.

"Annabeth," Percy ran his hands up and down her arms, relaxing her, "Why?"

"Percy," Annabeth looked down at her sandals, debating whether or not to tell him. "So basically…" she started, deciding to condense the story, "I don't actually live with my dad and my stepmother. I live with Thalia. I ran away a while ago." Percy opened his mouth to say something but she cut him off, "It doesn't matter. They're happier without me anyways. I'm not sure why, but misfortune seems to follow me everywhere I go." Annabeth smiled sadly, "They obviously noticed, _especially_ Helen. I've been staying with Thalia for the last few months. Her dad, Zeus, came home early from a business trip. He didn't know. He says I have to leave." She bit her lip, "So I'm saving money for an apartment during the school year." Silence followed Annabeth's statement.

"You could stay with me," Percy said softly, making Annabeth stare.

"W-what?" She stuttered, half hoping she'd heard wrong, half hoping she'd heard right.

"If it's really that bad," Percy continued, "you could stay in my apartment in LA."

"Thanks," Annabeth tone turned cold, "but I can take care of myself."

"I never said you couldn't," Percy was surprised by her sudden defensiveness.

"I don't need your pity money Percy," Annabeth replied curtly and began to walk away.

"Annabeth," he reached out, grabbed her arm and turned her around. She didn't say a word, her face facing the ground again..

"It's fine Percy you were just trying to be nice… It's just I lived with Luke before the shit hit the fan, then I had nowhere to go. Piper wanted me to move in with her but her dad wouldn't let her. Thalia kind of saved me. Now I've go-"

"It's okay Annabeth, I get it. I've been there before." Percy reassured her, raising her chin up.

"I'll make sure they don't get out."

"What?"

"The photos," Percy clarified, "I'll make sure they don't get out."

"You can't expect to get to all the photographers," Annabeth blinked slowly. How could she have been so foolish? They both kept their heads down as they walked back to his car.

"Trust me," Percy grinned at her as they approached his old volvo, "I've made worse things go away." Annabeth raised an eyebrow. Percy unlocked his car and opening the door for Annabeth.

"I can open doors," Annabeth muttered under her breath. Percy didn't hear her.

"My manager works wonders," he shrugged as Annabeth got in the car. He closed the door behind her and walked to the otherside.

"What'd you do?" Annabeth asked after he was comfortably seated. Percy smiled and blushed slightly. Annabeth couldn't help but smile herself. She never thought she'd see Percy Jackson blush.

"I'm not sure you want to know," he turned the key and started the engine.

"Of course I want to know Percy," Annabeth leaned forward, intrigued, "what are you hiding." Percy didn't answer. "Percy," Annabeth chuckled, "don't worry I've probably done worse."

"Well," he back out of the parking lot, "A few months ago," he licked his lips and glanced at Annabeth who was watching him, a devilish glint shined in her stormy eyes, "my friend Nico and his boyfriend convinced me to go on vacation with them in mexico. One night, we all went to a club. I got wasted," he faced Annabeth as they were stopped at a red light, "like _wasted_ wasted." he widened his eyes to emphasize his state of mind at the time, "I met this girl, a fan of mine. We made out behind the bar,"

"Oh," She felt a pin in her heart but refused to acknowledge the pain, "so it's habit of yours then?"Annabeth joked.

"Let me finish." Percy returned his eyes to the road ahead, "We ended up moving things to a park. I know, I know," Percy waved Annabeth's arguments away before they had time to leave her mouth, "but I was _so_ drunk. Anyways, she used her scarf to tied me to the play structure and was in the process of blowing me when she got a call from her mom and had to leave."

"That doesn't sound that bad," Annabeth said disappointed.

"It wouldn't have been," he proceeded, "expect it didn't occur to her to untie me before she left."

"Wait what?" Annabeth laughed, "So you were tied up, in public, naked in mexico?"  
"On a play structure." Percy nodded. Annabeth's wild giggles made him laugh despite himself. "I had to wait for a kind homeless man to untie me,"

"And there were photos?" the amusement clear in Annabeth's voice.

"Yep," Percy shook his head, he'd been so stupid that night, "a couple of teenagers decided to take pictures instead of help me." He waited until Annabeth was done laughing at him.

"If you made that go away," she wheezed, "I'm sure you can make a few boat photos disappear."

"It's not that funny," Percy kept his eyes on the road.

"It's definitely funny." Annabeth said between sporadic giggles.

"So," Percy slowed down the car as they neared the hotel, wanting to prolong their trip as long as possible, "What about you? Most embarrassing you've ever done."

"Are you asking me if I've ever done anything to rival your naked mexican adventure." Annabeth scoffed.

"Have you?" Percy asked, wanting to move to conversation past his mistakes.

"No," Annabeth leaned back against the faux vinyl seat, "the most embarrassing thing I've ever done has been here," she turned to him, "with you."

"I'm honored," Percy smiled, resisting the urge to kiss the sweet curve of her lips. He pulled the car off to the side of the road, into the gravel divot where Annabeth had insisted he let her off last time.

"We're here," Annabeth said, "I should probably go," she didn't move.

Percy turned off the engine, "Let me at least walk you," Annabeth nodded and jumped out of car. Within seconds he was next to her and together they walked the same path she'd walked the night before.

"So," Annabeth began, feeling self conscious. He knew so much about her life yet she still didn't know much about him, "you've been there before?" Percy swallowed, realizing what she was referring to.

"Yeah," Percy kicked at the gravel beneath him.

"You don't have to say anything." Annabeth said quickly, not wanting to invade. She hated it when people pried into her personal stuff.

"No, no" Percy shook his head and ran a hand through his dark hair, "it's only fair." he took a deep breath, "Hollywood was kind of an escape for me. Before all this stuff," he waved his hands around, "I was living full time with my mom and my stepfather. My mom is the sweetest human being I've ever met. I don't understand why she put up with Gabe for so long. He treated her horribly, always yelling and threatening her. After a while he became violent, that's when I stepped in. He kicked me out. That's why I came to live with Grover and Nico in LA. When my acting career got started, Gabe called me, said he was sorry. Since then, Gabe's been a lot nicer to both me and my mom. I think he's worried she'll divorce him and he won't get any of the money." Annabeth was silent, unsure how to respond. She stopped walking, causing Percy to do the same, "What?" he asked, eyebrow raised.

"I'm sorry." She said quietly, unable to break out of Percy's fierce gaze. Percy eyes stared deep into her, past her eyes. She raised one hand to cup his cheek, his stubble was rough against her soft skin. He tilted his head down slightly. Annabeth eye's fluttered shut and she stood on her tiptoes to meet him halfway. Their lips brushed. Shivers ran through Annabeth at the whisper of the kiss. She opened her eye a crack and saw Percy still watching her, the smallest of smiles tugging at the corner of his mouth. He closed his eyes and brought her lips back to his. He kissed her tenderly, softly. Annabeth looped her arms around his neck. Her body fell slack against his as she kissed him back. They pulled away, Percy wore a contemplative look at he watched her. Annabeth stared back, pursing her lips. Trying to make sense of the way she'd felt when he had kissed her.

She brought her hand down from his neck and they continued their walk to her building. The kiss was different; gentle, deep and excruciatingly slow. She pulled a stray curl behind her ear, "Where are you applying for college?" Annabeth asked, trying to take her mind off her feelings. _What feelings? You don't have any feelings._ She told herself, _you're smarter than that. You know it will end in a few weeks_.

"Not sure yet," he chuckled at the drastic change in subject, "I really like NYU and UCLA."

"Really?" Annabeth swayed her hands by the sides, trying to appear natural, "I looked at NYU too. I really like Cornell, but Ithica seems so small. I'm not sure I can live in such a small town."

"Mhm," Percy agreed, "NYU's city campus is one of the reasons I love it."

"Love it?" Annabeth asked with a smile, a single dimple appearing on her cheek.

"I really hope I get in," Percy shrugged, "but I'm trying not to get too attached, I probably won't get in."

"Why not?"

"I don't have the best grades," Percy explained, "I'm dyslexic and I have ADHD, not the best combination"

"You're dyslexic?" Annabeth's smile widened.

"Yes," Percy eyed her oddly, "taking pleasure in my misery Chase?"

"No, it's just I'm also dyslexic."

"Really?" Percy furrowed his brow.

"Ever since I can remember."

"This is you," Percy said as the employee dorms came into sight, "you should have let me walk you yesterday, this is way more than a minute."

"Maybe five," Annabeth disregarded.

"More like twenty." They reached the building's front doors but Annabeth didn't go in. Percy didn't say goodbye. Neither of them wanted to part ways.

"It's only six o'clock," Annabeth said glancing down at her phone, "we still have plenty of time before I need to get home… well, not home but back here."

"What do you want to do?" he grinned, glad Annabeth wasn't dying to get away from him yet.

"I'm sure we can think of something," Annabeth said with a coy smile.

"Mh" Percy mused, "my place or yours?" he wiggled his eyebrows at her.

"Yours," Annabeth replied eagerly, "definitely yours." Percy put an arm around her, pulling her against his side. She leaned her head against his shoulder, ignoring impending heartbreak that was sure to come. _Just a few weeks_ , she reminded herself. She could like him, but only for a few weeks.  
"What are you think about?" Percy asked Annabeth, who'd been staring at him for the last five minutes.

"Nothing," Percy gave her a pointed look, "fine, you."

"I know," Percy smiled charmingly, "I'm captivating aren't I?" Annabeth gaped.

"Wow," Annabeth raised her eyebrows, "someone's awfully cocky,"

"You know it's true" Percy held the back door of the hotel open for Annabeth. Annabeth rolled her eyes but smiled.

"It's true," She said and strode over to the elevator.

"Really?" Percy laughed stunned. It was the opposite of what he'd expected her to say.

"Sure," Annabeth leaned forward and pushed the elevator button. "You're very cute," she added in a patronizing tone.

"I am not cute," Percy shot back as the elevator dinged and they stepped inside, "I'm manly, handsome, rugged,"

"Whatever you say," Annabeth chuckled, pressing the button to the 16th floor.

"Are you saying you don't find me attractive? You don't think I'm hot?" Annabeth turned to face his mischievous grin.

"As attractive as a baby seal," Annabeth teased. Percy pushed Annabeth against the elevator doors. They were nose to nose. A smile tugged at his lips as he placed a hand on the small of her back and held her to him.

"What about now?" He breathed. Annabeth looked him in the eyes,

"A grown seal," she shrugged. He laughed darkly and captured her lips with his. Annabeth wound her arms around his strong shoulders and kissed him back hungrily. Percy kept one hand on the small of her back, the other flat against the metal doors.

DING

The doors opened behind Annabeth. She stumbled backward into the hallway, almost falling over. Her back slammed against the wall directly in front of the elevator. Percy pulled back, startled. Annabeth stared at him for a minute, a smile plastered on her face. Percy returned the expression. She knotted her hand in his t-shirt and pulled him back in. His tongue slipped into her mouth, massaging her own.

DING

Annabeth threw Percy off her as the elevator doors opened and out stepped an old couple. They eyed them oddly but kept walking down the hallway to the left. Once they were out of sight, Percy tried to kiss Annabeth again but she held him off.

"Percy," She giggled, "C'mon, let's go," Percy groaned and reluctantly let her out of his strong grasp. She leaned in and, under the pretext of a peck on the cheek, stole his wallet.

"Hey!" He yelled as she took off down the hallway, waving the leather billfold above her head. She reached his door and searched for his room key. As she did, she felt a pair of big hands on her waist, "that's not very nice," he breathed into her neck.

"Guess I'll have to find a way to make it up to you" Annabeth replied, rolling her head to the side, allowing Percy easier access to her neck. Her eyelid fluttered shut for a millisecond as Percy sucked just below her ear. She turned her attention back to the wallet and smiled triumphantly, having finally found the Hotel Escape card.

"I can think of a few ways," Percy growled, nipping her ear. Annabeth hastily unlocked the door. The minute the green light lit up next to door handle she turned around to meet Percy's lips with hers. She wrapped one arm around his neck, using the other hand to open the door behind her. They both clambered into the room, never once breaking their kiss. Percy kicked the door shut behind him. Annabeth was in the process of taking off Percy's shirt when the lights flipped on. She and Percy both pulled away and stared at each other confused.

"Ahem," A female voice cleared her throat from behind Annabeth. Annabeth caught a glimpse of Percy's shocked expression as she turned to face the source of the voice. Her blood ran cold when she was who it was.

Claire. She was draped across Percy's bed, dressed in scandalous lingerie. The pearly white clothing clung to her curves, revealing her nearly perfect body. Annabeth could see tears in her eyes.

Annabeth paled and pushed Percy away. "Percy!" Claire cried, "Who the hell is this?!" Annabeth didn't wait for Percy to reply. She swallowed hard and took off out the door, slamming it behind her.


	40. Chapter 40

**AN: I do not own any of the wonderful characters thought up by Rick Riordan. It's my first fanfiction and I would love not to get sued. Anyways, hope you enjoy.**

Annabeth's eyes burned with the tears she refused to let fall. She would not cry over another guy. Over another asshole.

"Annabeth!" She heard Percy's voice call after her. She clenched her fists and kept walking. She heard his footsteps approaching and a tug on her elbow, "Annabeth wait!"

"What Percy?" She spun around, anger blazing in her eyes. She slapped him across the face. "What could you possibly say right now that would make this better."

"Uh," Percy stuttered, his mind on his stinging cheek "w-well."

"Exactly, there is nothing that will fix this." She tried to keep walking but Percy pulled on her wrist.

"Annabeth," Percy ran his free hand through his hair, "it's not what you think. Claire's crazy. This is her acting crazy."

"Percy!" Annabeth yelled back, "I don't care if your girlfriend is crazy, that doesn't fix anything." Annabeth snatched her hand back, "You're such an asshole Percy! I can't believe I though you were different." She spun around on her heels and strode toward the elevator.

"Annabeth-"

"Go take care of your girlfriend!" She yelled over her shoulder. The minute she was out of sight Percy slammed his hand against the wall. He stormed back into his room. He found Claire sitting on the edge of his bed, scrolling through her phone.

"Claire! What the fuck was that?" Claire looked up, seemingly surprised by his angry tone.

"What?" Claire lulled her head innocently, "You don't like this?" She groped one of her boobs.

"Claire what the fuck is this?" Percy ran his finger through his hair, squeezing his eyes shut in confusion.

"I love you Percy," She leaned forward, sticking out her chest, waiting for him to open his eyes. When he finally did she bit her lip seductively.

"Claire," Percy repeated in disbelief, "What the fuck is this?"

"I'm a pretty good actress right?" Percy was silent. "Fine," Claire huffed, "I like you Percy, I've made that pretty clear. I wanted to move this relationship from business to pleasure. You refused. Sure it hurt, but I got over it. I was fine with your decision. But then I find out you're dancing with this bitch at a club." Claire held out her phone to show him.

Percy snatched it away and stared down at the photo. It was indeed him and Annabeth dancing. He was whispering something into her ear and her eyes were half closed, her lips curved into a cute smile. Under different circumstances, the photo would have made Percy smile.

"You like that huh?" Claire smiled cruelly, "Great! Because I've got about a dozen more."

"Claire I think-"

"Let me finish," Claire cut him off, "I didn't care about the little sideshow. She's not famous, not very pretty and not a great dancer from what I've seen. So I let it slide. I paid off the photographer. There was only one," she shrugged, "it wasn't a big deal. Then, today, I get a call saying _my_ boyfriend is fucking the same bitch on a boat and that they have _photos_."

"Claire-"

"So, I did what any sensible person would do, I made them an offer. It was pricey but I did it for us," Claire stood up from the bed and walked towards Percy, "for our future. Go ahead," she waved her hand.

"Claire, you have no idea how grateful I am that you got rid of those photos," Claire looped a finger in his belt loop, attempting to reel him in, "but," he said pushing her away slightly, "we're not dating. I need you to get that, this is just a _business_ relationship."

"Honey," Claire giggled, tracing his knuckles with her fingers, "all relationships are business,"

"Claire, I think we should end this," Claire stepped back and glared, "our business relationship."

"For her?" she thundered.

"Yes, well no," Percy liked Annabeth, but she wasn't the reason to break up with Claire, "No."

"Why then?" Claire snapped.

"Because this whole fake relationship was a bad idea," Percy explained, "I don't like you that way and my image doesn't matter enough to pretend to love someone who I just… don't"

"But you love her?" Claire asked, an inhuman smile lit up her face.

"It's none of your business who I love," Percy replied curtly.

"Well," Claire leaned back against his bed, "if you do care about her so much, I'm sure you wouldn't want to get her fired."

"What are you talking about?"

"I might play the part but I'm not stupid Percy. I always do my research. Annabeth Chase…" Claire tapped her index finger to her chin, pretending to think, "Honor student at Benson High School, national merit scholar. Works at a crappy diner. No permanent place of residence. Guessing she needs this job?" Percy was silent, his jaw clenched. "Unlike you, I care about my image and I'm not gonna have some teen relationship ruining it. One phone call and those photos are public again,"

"But wouldn't that be bad for your image?" Percy pointed out.

"It might," she shrugged, "but I'd just play the victim. My boyfriend, playboy Percy Jackson cheating on me with a lowly hotel employee." Claire scrolled through her phone again, "And I bet you don't want your precious Annabeth Chase to be the laughingstock of the country." she held out her phone, Percy once again snatched it and began staring at the photos. They were incredibly graphic. He and Annabeth naked, lying together on the floor. Their faces were easily recognizable. He sighed defeated, he'd have to do whatever Claire wanted him to, there was no way these could get out.

"What do you want?" Percy exhaled and handed her back her phone.

"Let's talk," Claire patted the bed next to her, a vicious glint shining in her eyes.

* * *

Annabeth smacked the elevator button.

DING.

The elevator doors opened and Annabeth ran inside. She clicked frantically at the CLOSE DOORS button. They closed unbrealiyl slowly. "FUCK," She screamed and slammed her hand against the cold metal doors. She knotted her fingers in her hair, ignoring the sharp pain. The doors opened into the lobby. She ignored the small wave from Frank, one of her fellow employees and stormed out the front doors. She felt a single tear fall down her face and wiped it away roughly. She made it to her building in record time. Her hand trembled as she tried to unlock the door. On her fifth try she was finally successful in getting the key card into the key slot. She opened the door and charged towards her room, not bothering to unlock the door she simply banged on it, hoping Piper would be home. Luckily, Piper was. She opened the door almost immediately, but only a crack. Unluckily, Piper had more bad news.

"I tried to get him to lea- Are you okay?" Piper noticed Annabeth's red eyes.

"I'm fine," Annabeth rumbled, "Who's in the room?" She asked, lips pursed.

"Luke," Piper whispered, "he says he won't leave until you talk to him."

"Wait outside," Annabeth instructed, eerily calm.

"What?" Piper was genuinely confused by her friend's reaction, "You don't want to kick him out?"  
"Piper," Annabeth spoke firmly, "Wait. Out. Side."

"Okay," Piper fully opened the door and stepped into the hallways, "Annabeth-" she stared at her with frightened eyes. Annabeth slammed the door in her face. Annabeth turned around slowly.

"Luke," She curled her lips into a bitter smile.

"Annabeth," He kept his distance, her unnatural composure making him uneasy, "I just-uh wanted to talk to you."

"About what?" Annabeth crossed her arm across her chest and fixed him with an impatient glare.

"About us," he said softly. Annabeth laughed.

"What us?" She waved her arms around wildly, "there is no 'us' Luke! There hasn't been an 'us' since you cheated on me."

"Annabeth I've changed," He took a step towards her.

"You haven't changed for shit," Annabeth's raised her voice, her calm facade escaping her, "I've seen you with what? Two different girls this week. Obviously you still can't keep it in your pants."

"Annie" He took another step. He would have reached out his arms to touch her but was afraid of what she might do.

"Don't call me that!" She pointed to the door, "Luke get out!"

"You act like you're so innocent," Luke started to loose his cool, "innocent little orphan Annie." He pouted, "You act like I'm the bad guy when you're the one fucking a hotel guest, after I told you I _love_ you!"  
"What does it matter how you feel about me?" Annabeth yelled back, "I don't feel the same way."

"But you and Percy have a real connection right?" he twist his face into a smile, "I guess his _real_ girlfriend Claire doesn't matter then." Annabeth glared silently, his words hitting close to home.

"Goddammit Luke," Annabeth stormed over to the door and swung it open, "Get the fuck out." Luke scoffed and was about to walk out when he spotted the hickey below her ear.  
"Wow," he leaned in. Annabeth felt her whole body go tense, "quite the whore, aren't you" he whispered, tracing her hickey with the tip of his finger.

"Out," Annabeth hissed through gritted teeth. Luke scoffed and continued out the door, his chin held high. Annabeth blinked slowly, feeling dizzy. She took a deep breath, suddenly nauseous. Annabeth opened her eyes back up and was about to close the door when she spotted Piper. Her friend was staring at her with wide eyes, her mouth slightly agape mouth. "Are you coming in or what?" She snarled. Piper nodded quickly, scrambling into the room.

"Annabeth" Piper leaned against the bunk beds, "what happened?"

"Why do you care?" Annabeth barked, "You think you and Jason have a perfect relationship, well guess what? Soon enough you'll find out he's fucking some girl in his hall." Piper stared long and hard at Annabeth, her eyes filled with tears. "I'm sorry," Annabeth sighed, exhausted. Piper didn't say a word. Annabeth closed her eyes and collapsed onto the bottom bunk bed. She felt the tears burn behind her eyes.

"Annabeth," Annabeth felt Piper sit down on the mattress, "what's wrong?" Annabeth shook her head refusing to open her eyes.

"They're all the same, always the same shit." Her voice got caught in her throat. Annabeth stayed silent. She was sure if she said anything else she'd cry. Piper must have noticed as well.

"Okay," her soft voice soothed Annabeth, "We can talk about it tomorrow." Piper gently stroked her shoulders.

"Okay," Annabeth managed to squeak out.

"Do you want me to sleep with you tonight?" Annabeth nodded. Piper watched her best friend and smiled sadly. Annabeth didn't need to tell her what had happened, Piper was pretty sure she already knew. She was already in her pajamas and had already brushed her teeth so she just laid down next to Annabeth. Piper felt Annabeth shiver and hugged her tightly.

The next morning Piper woke to an empty bed. She sat up and silenced her alarm. Her eyes scanned the room for Annabeth. There was no sign of her. Piper started to panick. She didn't want it to be like last time. She didn't want Annabeth to go off the rails again. To Piper's relief, Annabeth stepped out of the bathroom.

"Hi," she greeted her brightly, shaking her wet hair into a towel.

"Hey," Piper rubbed her eyes groggily, "are you okay?"

"Yeah," Annabeth smiled but Piper could tell it was forced, "I totally overreacted last night. I'm so sorry," Annabeth shrugged, "It's just seeing Luke gets me really angry."

"Okay," Piper stood up unsurely, rummaging around for her uniform, "you sure?" she narrowed her eyes at Annabeth as she pulled on her cheesy hawaiian shirt.

"Absolutely," Annabeth walked over to their fruit bowl and picked up a banana, "C'mon girly,  
Annabeth peeled the fruit, "we don't wanna be late!" She took a big bite a grinned. In that moment all Piper's hopes fell, there was definitely something wrong.

"I'll meet you there?" Piper plastered a smile on her face.

"Sure," Annabeth put the keys in her bag and left, closing the door hard behind her. Piper reached for her phone and quickly dialed Jason. He didn't answer so she left a message.

"Hey Jason, I think we have a problem. Annabeth came home crying and now she's acting scary calm. I think it's the post Luke all over again. Please call me back when you get this. Don't worry about the time, I'll find an excuse to get out of work," she was about to hang up when she realized she'd forgotten something, "Love you," she smiled then hung up the phone, placing it in the back pocket of her khaki shorts. Piper rushed to the bathroom, brushed the knots out of her hair and ran out the door after Annabeth.  
Piper arrived a few minutes late to the the emporium and found Annabeth roughly stacking snow globes in the front of the store.

"Hey," she greeted Piper with a nod and a sweet smile. It was the sweet smile that made Piper stomach drop. Piper nodded back, her heart filled with dread, and walked to the back of the store to find her supervisor.

Annabeth turned back to the shelves. Her cheeks hurt from smiling but it just made her strain her lips even more. Annabeth finished with the snow globes and moved on to key chains. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw a dark figure enter her line of sight. She spun around swiftly, immediately recognizing the silhouette.  
"Annabeth," Percy walked towards her cautiously. He wore dark slacks and a pink dress shirt. Although he looked put together, Annabeth could see dark circles under his eyes. She resisted the urge to ask if he was okay. She bit her cheek hard, silencing her thoughts.

"Can I help you with something?" Her stiff fingers clutched the keychains tightly.

"Can we talk?" Percy touched her shoulder, surprised when she didn't jerk away.

"I'd love to," she shrugged, "but I have another customer to attend to." She walked towards the handsome stranger who had just walked in. "Can I help you with something?" She asked, abandoning both the key chains and Percy.

"Oh," the dark skin boy scratched the back of his neck nervously, "just looking."

"Well," Annabeth smiled charmingly, "If you need _anything_ I'm here." She winked, emphasizing the 'anything.' The 20 year-old chuckled.

"I guess I'm looking for sunscreen." he smile back at her, showing off his pearly white teeth.

"I'll take you there," Annabeth took him by the hand and led him to the sunscreen shelf, "right here." she pointed, "what are you looking for?" Percy tensed in the background.

He thought for a moment, "20 or more spf and a good smell."

"This one had 25 spf," Annabeth pulled a small brown bottle off the shelf, "so it'll give you a great tan." she ran her hand up his bicep, "though I don't think you need it." The boy grinned, obviously flattered. "In terms of smell," Annabeth glanced over at Percy, "I'm actually wearing it right now," She swept her hair over to one side, "how do I smell," she craned her neck to the side to provide easy access. The boy leaned forward, his jagged breath hot against her neck.

"It smells good," he chuckled nervously, "guess I'll take that one."

"This type comes in three different sizes," Annabeth explained, resting on hand on his arm, "You're a pretty big guy so I'd recommend-"

"Sorry," Percy cut in, grabbing Annabeth by the elbow, "I've got to borrow her for a minute."

"Percy," Annabeth protested as he pulled her away.

"Annabeth," he gaped at her, "what the fuck was that?"

"What?" she giggled, playing with the end of his shirt, "so formal." She teased. Percy stared at her for a full 60 seconds, before pulling her into the storage closet a few feet away.

"Annabeth," he repeated, "why are you acting like this?"

"Like what?" Her fingers traveled up his arms, squeezing his strong shoulders.

"You're acting like," Annabeth swallowed hard, ignoring the way his eyes affected her, "like everyone else."

"You don't like that?" Annabeth hissed, discarding her guise, "Well shit, I'm so sorry Percy. I really should have been more considerate with your feelings."

"Annabeth-"

"I'm so sorry!" She mocked sadness, "Did I make you feel like shit? Wouldn't know how that feels-"

"Claire and I aren't dating." Percy interrupted.

"Really?" Annabeth forcibly pressed her fingertips to his chest, "Could have fooled me," She pushed him back into boxes of t-shirts. Percy staggered back, not expecting Annabeth to shove him.

"Annabeth," he said, stabilizing himself, "Claire and I aren't dating. She's just acting crazy." Annabeth felt her hope invade her heart. She swallowed hard, knowing she'd regret it. "She found photos of us and freaked out."

"So you guys broke up?" Annabeth, her voice sounding softer than she'd meant it to.

"It's not that simple," Annabeth heart sank, her eyes hardened. Percy ran his fingers though his hair. Annabeth could tell he was stressed. In their short time together it was one of the mannerisms she'd noticed.

"It's is though," Annabeth smiled a phony smile. She flipped her hair and walked out of the closet. Paying no attention to Percy who stepped out behind her, she returned to the pile of key chains she had been instructed to hang up.

"Keep your eyes on the news," Percy whispered into her ear. Annabeth spun around to let him know she wouldn't but he was already gone. Annabeth closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. It wasn't fair that Percy affected her this way. _No_ , she told herself, _he doesn't affect you. He doesn't mean anything_.

"What that your boyfriend?" Annabeth pasted a smile on her face and turned to address the voice.

"No," she giggled, "just a guy I know,"

"Good," the good looking customer from before combed through his wallet, "I'm Luke." he handed Annabeth his business card. _Of course you're Luke_ , She resisted the urge to laugh. "We should get a drink sometime."

"For sure," Annabeth twirled a strand of her hair, imitating the flirty teenagers she saw everyday, "I'll totally call you," Luke grinned and walked out of the emporium, bag in hand.

"Who was that?" She heard Piper voice behind her.

"Luke," Annabeth shrugged, waving the card between her fingers. It fell onto the floor but she didn't bother picking it up.

"Annabeth," Piper spoke warily.

"Piper," Annabeth sang back, hanging up surfboard key chains.

"I talked to Jason and we think-"

"You talked to Jason about me?" Annabeth frowned with her eyes, her lips still twisted into a perverse smile, "I told you nothing happened. It was no big deal, Jesus can't thing just stay between friends."

"Well-"

"Do you want to clubbing with me tonight?" Annabeth cut her short, not allowing her to get more than a word out.

"What?" Piper furrowed her brows at the very un-Annabeth like suggestion, "We have to work tomorrow."

"You don't have to go," Annabeth said casually, "But I'm going either way."

"Yeah," Piper felt for her phone, realizing she was gonna have to call Jason back, "I'll go,"


	41. Chapter 41

**AN: I do not own any of the wonderful characters thought up by Rick Riordan. It's my first fanfiction and I would love to not get sued. Anyways enjoy!**

"Can I get ten tequila shots?" Annabeth turned to Piper, "Want anything?"

"A martini," Piper smiled, looking tired. Annabeth faced the bartender who, for once, seemed more captivated by her than Piper. It probably had something to do with the amount of cleavage Annabeth was sporting.

"And a martini," She added brightly, "You okay?" She asked Piper who was staring at her, a worried expression on her face.

"Yeah," Piper said quietly, "Jason said he'd meet us, do you mind?" Annabeth shook her head.

"Alright," The bartender motioned to their drinks, "how are you paying?"

"Can you put it on Percy Jackson's tab?" Annabeth asked nonchalantly. The bartender furrowed his brow, confused.

"No," Piper held out her debit card, "it's on me," The bartender took it and rung it up quickly. By the time he handed back the card Annabeth had already downed all her shots. She felt all the sadness and confusion inside her fade away as the alcohol burned down her throat.

"Let's dance," she suggested, already slurring her words. She took Piper by the wrist and dragged her onto the dance floor, causing her to nearly spill her martini. Piper began to bob up and down, attempting to take sips of her drink as people bumped into her.

"Can we go back to the bar?" Piper yelled over the loud music.

"You can," Annabeth yelled back, throwing her head back, letting the music take her. She swayed from side to side, jumped up and down. She brought her head back down, but instead of Piper's face she saw a vaguely familiar one. She couldn't place him, but she definitely recognized his short blonde hair.

"Hey," he greeted her with a wide smile, "it's Joe." The name clicked and she realized who he was. It was the boy she'd danced with in Lux Lounge.

"Hey," She purposely stumbled into him. He caught her by the waist.

"Are you okay?" he chuckled, looking a little worried.

"I am now," Annabeth stared up at him with wide innocent eyes, laughing internally at her cheesy line.

From afar, Piper stared at Annabeth in disbelief. "Hey," she smiled at the familiar voice. "Where's Annabeth?" Jason gave her a quick kiss on the cheek then balanced his chin on her shoulder. Piper took a sip of her martini and pointed. "Oh," Jason stated simply, obviously distraught.

"I don't know what to do," Piper watched her friend grind against a surprised looking blonde, "I tried to get her to stay home." she lulled her head to face Jason, "I even tried to get us stuck in the elevator."

"You're such a good friend," Jason teased.

"Jason," she fixed him with a concerned gaze, "I'm seriously worried,"

"I know," he wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly, his chin resting on top of her head, "me too," Piper pressed her cheek to his hard chest, breathing him in. "Shit!" She heard his deep voice exclaim.

"What?!" Piper eyes shot to the dance floor, Annabeth was nowhere in sight.

"She's gone,"

* * *

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Joe asked breathlessly.

"Mhm," Annabeth hummed against his lips. She pushed him hard against the wall, her hands were already up his shirt.

"You're so fucking hot," he murmured. Annabeth rolled her head back and stared up at the ceiling. She could feel his sloppy lips whisper words into her curve of her neck. Annabeth tugged at his shirt roughly, angrily. He raised his lips to meet hers but she felt nothing, only static. She kissed him back, frustrated. Annabeth flipped them around so she had her back to the wall. She moved her lips against his, squeezing her eyes shut, willing the herself to feel something... anything. Annabeth wanted to cry, she wanted to scream, she wanted to throw up. Would kissing ever be the same? Would she ever find anyone who excited her the way Percy did.

"Mm," Annabeth moaned against him, remembering her and Percy's passionate kisses, their time on his boat. _Shit!_ Annabeth realized she'd been imagining Percy in front of her, _fuck Percy! I can do better. I will find someone better._ In her rage she'd accidentally bit down onto Joe's bottom lip. He groaned puller her closer against him. She felt nothing, absolutely nothing. The kiss began to feel more like a task, not necessarily unpleasant just something she had to do. Annabeth pushed herself flush against his body, determined to feel more pleasure than she'd ever felt with Percy. She hooked her legs around his hips, rubbing her center against him. He pulled at her dress, hiking it up far past her thighs.

"Annabeth!" she thought she heard Piper's voice yell but the music was too loud to tell and she was too drunk to stop. Before she realized what was happening Jason had pulled her off of Joe and was escorting her out of the club. Her limbs flailed wildly around her as she struggled to escape his strong grasp.

"Oomph," she heard him groan as she kicked him hard in the shin. His grip loosened and Annabeth took the opportunity to flee.

"Annabeth!" Piper chased after her. Almost instantly, Annabeth was out of breath. She slumped into the shadows, against a wall near the bathroom, hoping Piper wouldn't see her. "Annabeth what the fuck was that?" Piper yelled at her. Annabeth rose her head to meet her eyes but didn't say a word. "Annabeth," Piper repeated, in a softer tone this time, "Please don't do this," she shook her head, "not again."

"What are you talking about?" Annabeth asked, honestly confused

"This," Piper motioned to her slumped body, "I can't lose you aga-"

"Why can't I be like this Piper?" Annabeth snapped, "Why can't I have fun? Are you the only one who can have fun?"

"This isn't fun Annabeth," Piper barked back, "this you trying to drink yourself to death again, all over some guy."

"Stop overreacting," Annabeth snarled.

"Annabeth" Piper was on the brink of tears, "you don't realize it but you're acting the exact same way, give or take a few pills"

"I can't believe you would bring that up," Annabeth hissed," That was different Piper," she stood up to face her, her stony eyes cold, "This isn't like last time."

"You're right Annabeth," Piper grimaced, "this is much worse. It's escalating much faster, scary faster."

"This is who I am Piper!" Annabeth yelled, "You're the one who's always telling me to stop being such a buzz kill. I thought you'd be happy."

"We both know that isn't what I meant," Piper noticed people staring, "Annabeth this isn't you, let's just go home."

"Fuck off Piper!" Annabeth thundered, "Leave me the fuck alone!"

"Fine," Piper shot back, "if that's what you want," the crowd forming around them making her uncomfortable, "I'll leave you alone," Piper stormed away, her heels clicking on the wooden floor. She found Jason, who pulled her against him in a side hug and together they hurried out. Annabeth watched her near the exit and disappear into the night.

"Fine," Annabeth huffed, even though Piper was not in earshot of her comment, "I don't care," She pushed past the circle of people surrounding her and strode back onto the dance floor, "I can take care of myself," she yelled, but no one heard her over the loud music. She wasn't sure she heard herself.

She took a deep breath and began dancing again. She saw Joe's tall figure in the crowd and ran towards him. She was a few feet from him when she noticed he was dancing with another girl. He was staring right at her and he still hadn't recognized her. Annabeth stepped back into the dancing crowd, hoping to lose herself in the mosh pit.

Someone's foot caught her ankle and she fell back into the horde of people. A pair of large hands caught her. She turned around to say thank you when she recognized a hotel guest for the second time that evening. "Hey," she blinked, hoping she wasn't hallucinating, "Luke?"

"Annabeth?" the mocha skinned customer from the emporium gave her a sly smile, "Wanna dance?" he asked, palms outstretched.

"Absolutely," Annabeth took his hands, hoping to stabilize herself. The man danced well, twirling her out the pulling her back in. It reminded her of the way she'd danced with Percy. _No_ , Annabeth scolded herself, _Stop thinking about Percy!_ But she couldn't stop. Every graceful step Luke took was a slightly less impressive than Percy's. Every kiss he placed on behind her ears barely gave her butterflies. What if they never fully came back? Annabeth felt a tear roll down her cheek and quickly swiped it away. _NO!_ She almost yelled, "I'll find someone better,"

"What?" Luke murmured into her ear.

"Nothing," Annabeth whispered back. Her eyes closed and she felt her consciousness leave her. She thought about how lucky she was that Luke was holding her as her vision went black.

"Mhh," Was the first thing Annabeth heard when she regained consciousness. Everything was the same. She was still on the dance floor. Everything was still blurry. Luke was still holding her. Only the song had changed. Annabeth swallowed hard, feeling slightly nauseous. "Fuck," Luke growled as he rubbed his growing erection into her backside. Annabeth felt her body lurch forward. Her face lost all its color and her ears burned. Annabeth knew what was coming. She tried to jerk away from Luke but he wouldn't let go of her hips. Annabeth gagged but pushed back the puke that was slowly crawling up her throat.

"Annabeth what the fuck are you doing?" Annabeth stared up at what she thought was Luke.

"Luke?" she asked as her eyes adjusted to the blonde figure looming down at her.

"Yeah," Luke replied into her ear, his voice husky. Annabeth's head spun, it was too much for her.

"Who the fuck is this?" her ex-boyfriend asked.

"Luke stop," Annabeth tried to sound as forceful as she could, but her tone made her sound lost, confused.

"You want me to stop," Luke voice came from behind her. Annabeth turned around and realized she had to get rid of him. One Luke was already too much.

"Can you get me a drink?" Annabeth whispered into Luke's ear. He nodded briskly and kissed her shoulder a few more times before hurrying off to the bar. Annabeth combed her hair with her fingers before turning around to confront Luke. "What are you doing here?"

"Who the fuck was that Annabeth?" Luke yelled, lowering his face so he was eye level with her.

"Not sure," Annabeth shrugged, "is it illegal to dance?" She was about to make a joke about footloose when Luke cut in.

"It is when you're mine," he gripped her shoulder, his uncut nails digging into her arm, "you're out here looking like a slut, dancing like a whore."

"Don't call me that," Annabeth muttered.

"What did you say?" Luke raged even though he'd heard her perfectly well.

"I'm not a whore Luke!" Annabeth inched her face closer to his, "and what if I am? It's none of your business who I'm fucking!"

"It is if-"

"I'm not yours Luke," she shook his hands off her shoulders, "Get the fuck off of me."

"What if I hurt him huh?" Luke twisted his thin lips into a threatening smile, "What if I went after your precious little replacement Luke?"

"See if I care!" Annabeth snapped back before turning away and walking, as quickly as she could in her state, off the dance floor.

"Where are you going?" he called after her. Annabeth didn't bother to answer. She went out the back exit of the bar, into the alley her and Percy had been in less than four days ago. And, in the same place they had kissed, she puked her guts out.

After throwing up her entire dinner Annabeth picked up her phone and ordered an uber. She considered calling Piper to apologize but figured it would sound like one long stream of incoherent consciousness and decided against it. She put the phone down to wait for the silver jeep that was supposed to be there in a minute or two, but felt bad not saying anything and sent her a simple text.

 **In dry footer.**

Annabeth sent the message. It was only until she reread it that she realized it did not say I'm sorry Piper. Annabeth sent another.

 **I'm sorry period**

Annabeth sighed. That was probably as good as it was gonna get. She heard a honk and looked up. Her uber had arrived. She waved to the driver and hopped in the back seat. "Hi," Annabeth convulsed as she got shivers. The driver eyed her oddly but didn't say anything. They were halfway to the hotel when Annabeth gagged again. Her dinner had made a comeback. "Fuck," Annabeth choked. She clapped a hand over her mouth, trying to delay the inevitable.

"You okay back there?" her driver checked her out in his mirror. "Shit!" he braked abruptly. The inertia sent Annabeth flying forward into the seat in the passenger seat, her hand flying off her mouth.

"Blarghghhh," Annabeth had no control of what was coming out of her. She felt a cold gust next to her and stopped barfing momentarily. She turned to the source of the wind and saw her uber driver holding the door open for her.

"Get out," she demanded.

"Thanks," Annabeth managed to say as she scrambled out of the car and bent over a short wooden fence, hurling the remainder of her meal into a stranger's front yard. After the dry heaves stopped and she believed everything that had one been in her was out, she spit the taste of throw up out of her mouth and wiped her lips, turning back towards the car. "Thanks," Annabeth repeated, but there was no one to repeat it to. Her uber driver had driven away the minute Annabeth had exited the car.

Annabeth ran her fingers through her hair, not realizing she still had traces of vomit in between her fingers. She took her phone out and called Piper. She tapped her foot on the floor as the phone rang, grateful she had her friend on speed dial. Piper didn't answer. She took a deep breath, _it's okay_ , she thought, _I'll just call Jason._ She squinted down at her phone, trying to decipher what looked like egyptian hieroglyphics. She gritted her teeth as she carefully looked for Jason's number in her contacts.

He didn't answer.

Frantic, Annabeth called him again. Still no answer. She called Piper again. Nothing. _They better have died_ , Annabeth closed her phone angrily, crossing her arms across her chest. She considered her options. There were only a few people who would be willing to pick her up at three in the morning; Thalia, Piper, Jason and Luke. One of those was already out of the picture, two hadn't answered. She only had one person to call.

Thalia.

Annabeth picked up her phone and closely examined her "T" contacts before clicking on Thalia's name. After two rings Annabeth began to panick, losing faith.

"Annieee," Thalia sang into the phone.

"Don't call me that," Annabeth said almost subconsciously, "Can you pick me up?"

"What?" there was loud music on Thalia's side.

"CAN YOU PICK ME UP?" Annabeth screamed into the phone.

"Oh," Annabeth heart sank at her tone, "Sorry Annabeth but I'm waaaasted and so-"

"It's fine," Annabeth hung up on her mid sentence. Annabeth stared down at her bright phone screen. She felt tears of frustration burn behind her eyes. She was about to give up and call Luke when she saw a 212 number in her recent calls. It was Percy's number. Annabeth pursed her lips. Was it worth it? Was it worth it to give him that satisfaction of saving her? Under different circumstances she would have walked home. She would have rather spent the night naked in antarctica than give Percy an opportunity to damage her pride, but tonight was different, not only was she desperate, she was drunk.

Annabeth hesitantly tapped his number, it was still unnamed. She closed her eyes, half hoping he wouldn't answer.

"Hello?" a groggy voice responded.

"Can you pick me up?" Annabeth said in the soberest voice she could muster.

"Annabeth?"

"Please Percy,"

"Okay," Annabeth sighed in relief, "Where are you?" She heard him shuffling around.

"I don't know," Annabeth admitted, laughing a bit, "I have literally no idea where I am."

"Okay," Percy said in a soothing voice, "share your location with me."

"Okay, one sec," Annabeth took the phone off her ear and looked down at it, trying to remember how to share a location. She clicked on Percy's number and then on details.

SHARE LOCATION.

Annabeth smiled, at least that was nice and clear. She touched the letters and a map was sent to Percy. Annabeth brought the phone back to her ear.

"I can be there in ten minutes," Percy said into the phone, in the background Annabeth heard him slam his door, "Is that okay?" Annabeth closed her eyes and took a deep breath, someone was coming to get her. "Annabeth?"

"Yeah," she assured him, "that's fine. Thank you Percy," she added.

"Your welcome," he chuckled into the phone, but she'd already hung up.

Percy was true to his word. His old volvo pulled up to the side of the road in a little over nine minutes. Annabeth waved her arms above her head to get his attention, walking towards him. He saw her and drove in, meeting her halfway.

"Hey," he got out as Annabeth neared his car, "how long have you been out here?" he asked, slipping off his jacket, throwing it over Annabeth's shivering shoulders.

"Not long," she wasn't sure if it was a lie. She'd lost track of time while she'd been throwing up and desperately calling her friends. It felt like she'd been out here for barely twenty minutes but she knew it was probably more like an hour. He opened the door for her and she stepped into the passenger seat, for the first time not commenting on his gentlemanly gesture. "Why'd you pick up?" she inquired as Percy turned the key, starting the ignition.

"Excuse me?" Percy clarified, leaning forward to adjust the heat.

"Why did you answer the phone?" Annabeth rested her head on the window beside her, watching the trees speed by.

"Why wouldn't I answer the call?" Percy glanced over at her, eyeing her dirt covered red dress.

"Because it was me," Annabeth uttered, "an-and I'm me."

"Annabeth why-" he sighed, "Annabeth look at me." She didn't move. "Fine," Percy pulled the car over, "Annabeth." He turned off the car, running his fingers through his disheveled hair, "Will you please look at me?"

"What?" She met his sea green eyes with a concrete stare.

"I-um I care about you," he declared, "I don't care if we're friend friends or secret friends or even acquaintances, I still care." Annabeth felt a lump forming in the back of her throat, "I would never not answer the phone." He smiled softly, his eyes darting down to his lap, "Even if you were acting especially irrational today." Before Percy could raise his gaze again, Annabeth crashed her lips onto his. "Annabeth," he tried to reason with her, but her lips were strangely addicting.

"Percy," she moaned in a very un-Annabeth like voice. Hastily, she climbed over the center console, quickly straddling his lap.

"Annabeth," Percy successfully unwound her fingers from his hair and pried her body from his, "what are you doing?" he spoke gently.

"You don't want this?" She asked, eyes still closed.

"Of course I do," Percy blurt out.

"Okay then," Annabeth pressed her lips back to his, using one hand to rub him through his pants.

"Annabeth," Percy groaned, "Why?" he managed as her lips met his neck, "Why now? I thought you were mad,"

"No, not anymore," Annabeth pulled back, staring down at him with dead eyes, "nothing matters, it all ends the same anyways," She bent towards him, not bothering to pull back her curls and gave him a hair filled kiss, "Percy?" she breathed impatiently when he didn't kiss her back.

"Annabeth sit down," Percy whispered, not wanting to sound too harsh, Annabeth's cold eyes playing with his mind.

"I am sittinging," she slurred.

"Annabeth," he forced two inches of space between them, "Sit down in your own seat."

"Why?" she whined.

"Get off," Percy cringed as the words came out.

"What?" Annabeth smiled like she'd heard wrong. Percy was silent. She laughed humorously and clambered back to her seat.

"What's wrong?" Percy furrowed his brows.

"Nothing's wrong Percy," Annabeth tapped her fingers on the dashboard, "Start the car. Let's go."

"No," he said simply.

"No?" Annabeth repeated incredulously.

"Not until you tell me what's wrong." Percy stared at her intently.

"First Piper, now you," Annabeth snapped, "what makes you so sure there is something wrong?"

"Your eyes," Annabeth scoffed but Percy continued, "when I look into them I don't see you anymore,"

"You don't know me," Annabeth replied quietly, averting her eyes back to the window, "start the car… please."

"If I do will you let me explain some things?" Percy countered calmly.

"I guess," Annabeth sighed, seeing no other way home. So Percy began to drive them home at a reasonably slow pace. 'In case of drunk drivers,' he'd said, but Annabeth was almost certain it was solely to elongate the trip.

"Everything I told you about me and Claire was the truth," Percy's fingers fiddled with the seams of the steering wheel, "However, I may have omitted some of the details of our relationship."

"Mh," Annabeth hummed, mocking sympathy.

"Claire and I did date," he admitted, "but only for a few weeks," he kept his eyes on the road, "our managers told us it would be better to appear to still be together, for both of our images."

"Your image?" Annabeth cocked her eyebrow.

"Yes, I would not be hopping from girl to girl and Claire would have someone stand her for more than a month. So we agreed to be friends in private and boyfriend and girlfriend in public. After a few weeks of it however, she decided it wasn't enough."

"You weren't enough?" Annabeth snarled,

"She kept wan-"

"you looked plenty enough for her yesterday."

"Annabeth will you listen to me please," Percy sighed, exhausted.

"Claire has been getting crazier and crazier, saying we need to date for real because it's not believable enough. I will never understand why her image is so important to her but it is, and it makes her act insane. She was actually pretty nice before all this. But now you are a threat to her, which makes her mad manipulative." Percy grip tightened on the steering wheel, "She has the photos of us on the boat," he said in hardly more than a whisper, "she threatened to get you fired,"

"Oh," Annabeth mouthed, the sound barely escaping her.

"There's not a lot I can do right now,"

"Hm," Annabeth mused.

"Were here," Percy pulled the car to a halt, "I'll walk you," he said, quickly unbuckling his seatbelt.

"No," Annabeth spoke as forcefully as she could, but a soft voice was all she could muster, "I need time to think,"

"Annabeth I don't know if you realize how drunk you are,"

"I'm not even that drunk," she cringed as she slurred her last word, "bad timing," she added while climbing of the car. As she exited, her foot got caught on the door, "fuck," she called out as her hands broke her fall.

"Are you okay?" she heard Percy's door shut and him come running over.

"Percy," Annabeth rolled her eyes, picking herself back up, "get in the car please," She wiped her gravel imprinted hands on her dress.

"No," he said firmly, "If I leave you now, you won't make it back to your room."

"I'll be finee," Annabeth starting walking away at a brisk pace.

"I'm coming with you," Percy caught up to her easily, matching her pace with his long strides.

"Fine," Annabeth huffed, "but no talking."

They trudged along the path quietly. Annabeth kept her eyes down as she concentrated on not tripping in her heels. Percy kept his eyes forward, watching her walk.

"Could you stop that?" Annabeth snapped, whipping around to face him.

"Stop what?" Percy asked innocently, an eyebrow raised.

"Stop staring- at me," she slurred.

"I'm not staring at you," they had stopped walking.

"I can feel your eyes on me," she said rather quietly.

"I'm just making sure you don't fall," Percy put his hands up in surrender, trying not to smile at her comment.

"I can walk just fine thanks," Annabeth barked and turned on her heel. As she did, she felt a sharp pain in her ankle. She bit her cheek harder than necessary, suppressing a whimper.

"Are you okay?" Percy asked in concern.

"I'm fine," Annabeth said calmly, though her jaw was clenched tightly. She kept walking, slower this time, with a slight limp.

"Annabeth," Percy ran after her, placing his warm hand on her cold shoulder, "you're obviously hurt, let me see your ankle"

"You're obviously desperate," Annabeth said, wrenching her shoulder out of his grip.

"Annabeth," Percy responded, his easy tone enraging Annabeth, "stop being so stubborn. You can't even walk right, just let me see it."

"No," Annabeth crossed her arms across her chest, "you're not my boyfriend, leave me alone."

"Annabeth-" he shook his head slightly, with a small smile.

"Percy I- Percy!" she screamed, wide eyed, as he picked her up bridal style, "WHat the fuck are you doing?"

"You're not gonna let me see it," Percy kept walking towards her building, "And I'm not gonna let you walk all the way back like that,"

"Why not?" Annabeth asked trying not to show her relief.

"Because," Percy thought for a moment, "it hurts to see you hurting," he said quietly. Annabeth silently accepted the statement and let out a long cool breath against neck before hooking her arms around him, to help him balance her weight.

"I'm not that stubborn," she snuggled into the crook of his neck.

"Of course not," he teased.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Annabeth muttered.

"Because I like you," Percy stated simply.

"How can you like me?" Annabeth whispered, "after I've been so horrible to you." Percy shrugged, he honestly wasn't sure.

"I just do," he spoke softly. He felt Annabeth shiver and pulled her body a little closer to his.

"Percy I think-" she trailed off.

"Yeah," Percy adjusted her in his arms, "Annabeth?" he asked, but her soft steady breaths told him she had already passed out. He carried her to her building, his smile never disappearing.


	42. Chapter 42

**AN: I do not own any of the wonderful characters thought up by Rick Riordan. It's my first fanfiction and I would love to not get sued. Anyways enjoy!**

"Annabeth," Percy whispered, "wake up, we're here," He'd already half groped her to get her key card, he didn't want to have to undress her too.

"Mhh," she protested as Percy let her down.

"What time is your roommate gonna get home?" Percy asked softly, an arm wrapped securely around Annabeth, "Piper," he remembered.

"Piper," Annabeth tried to walk on her wobbly legs, "is… I don't know," she stared up at him, her grey eyes cloudy from sleep.

"Okay," Percy helped her over to her bed, "pajamas then," she sat down on the edge of the bottom bunk and he stepped back, looking over the room, "Where are they?"

"Closet," Annabeth pointed. Percy rummaged through the clothes, finally pulling out a satin babydoll dress, "that's Piper's," Annabeth said with a small smile, "it's right there," she nodded her head at the folded t-shirt and shorts.

"Much more practical," Percy chuckled and brought them over to her.

"Thank you," she said, holding the clothes against her chest.

"I'll go," Percy after a brief period of silence, "have a-"

"Wait Percy," she grabbed his wrist, restricting his movement, "Could you help me with my zipper." Annabeth led his hand to her back, her eyes never leaving his, "please," She curved into him. Percy said nothing but complied. He slowly unzipped her dress, his hand lingering somewhere near her waist. Annabeth shrugged off the shoulder of her dress, letting the red clothing slowly slide down her body, exposing the golden skin underneath. She gently cupped the back of his neck, bringing his lips to hers.

"Annabeth," Percy choked out, it took all his strength not to pull her against him in that moment, "you're drunk,"

"I'm not that drunk," she breathed, peering up at him with sleepy eyes.

"You are very" he pushed a blonde curl behind her ear, " _very_ drunk," Annabeth nodded, accepting his statement, "I should go," he said after a moment of silence. He took a step back, pulling away, "do yo-"

"Stay," Annabeth called out.

"What?" Percy asked, his stunned look slowly turning hopeful. Annabeth herself was surprised by her bold statement, blaming it on the alcohol she continued.

"Stay with me," Annabeth clarified, "just until Piper get's here,"

"I-"

"It's fine," Annabeth shook her head, quickly pulling her black t-shirt over her head, "it was a stupid idea," she shrugged, "you can go,"

"No, no" Percy spoke quickly, taking a few steps towards her, "I just don't want to get you in trouble," They were almost nose to nose.

"You won't" Annabeth fell back onto the bed, not bothering to put on her shorts. Percy fell with her, his hands splayed on the bedspread on either side of her. He bent down, unable to resist the urge, and planted a sweet kiss on her painted lips.

"You should brush your teeth before you go to bed," he muttered into her mouth, "I'm pretty sure you threw up tonight,"

"Why are you kissing me then?" she mumbled back.

"Because I'm such a nice guy," Percy replied with a smirk. She gave him a smug smile and used her hands to shove him off of her. She pushed him harder than she'd meant to, causing him to stubble back. Annabeth stood up, wide eyed. She was about to apologize when he heard him chuckle and, seeing he was not hurt, began laughing herself. Annabeth walked into the bathroom and picked up her toothbrush, quickly measuring out the appropriate amount of toothpaste (two peas worth).

"So what happened to you tonight?" Percy asked, leaning against the door frame of the small bathroom.

"Long story," Annabeth shrugged and began brushing her teeth.

"It's always a long story with you isn't it," he chortled.

"And complicated," Annabeth reminded him through gritted teeth.

"Of course," he grinned, "as complicated as you are,"

"Whatsh that shupposhed to mean?" Annabeth observed him traverse the mirror, frowning playfully.

"That you're complicated," Percy replied simply. She threw him a pointed look, unsatisfied with the explanation. "You're awfully difficult to understand," he added, hoping provide some insight into his thoughts.

"What makesh-" she spit, "me to difficult to understand?" She queried, momentarily abandoning her toothbrush. Percy shifted at her semi-serious tone, standing up straight.

"You have many…" Annabeth was watching him intently, "sides to you. Some of which you are not very comfortable talking about, that makes it hard to understand you," Annabeth's eyes darted around the room, not wanting to acknowledge his statement, "hard to understand your actions,"

"Okay," Annabeth stated quietly and resumed brushing her teeth. Percy stayed quiet. He could tell it wasn't the right moment to push her about her past. He honestly wasn't sure there ever would a 'right' moment.

A few minutes later Annabeth had finally finished brushing her teeth and washing her face and was ready to bed. She plugged in her phone, checking it in the process. She had one text from Piper.

 **I'll be home soon**

Annabeth was about to text back 'okay' when Percy, who'd been awkwardly pacing behind her for the last few minutes, cut in.

"Any word from Piper?" Annabeth whipped around, hurriedly hitting the home button, hoping he hadn't seen the text.

"No," Annabeth lied, then felt bad. Why was she lying? It was Percy. She didn't have to fool him into staying, and if she did, did she really want him here? "Yes," Annabeth corrected herself.

"So…" Percy narrowed his eyes at her merrily, "yes or no?"

"Yes," Annabeth set her phone down, "she said she'd be here soon." Percy nodded in return. She stared at him, trying to decipher his demeanor throughout this mess she'd created when her eyelids became heavy, reminding her she needed to sleep. Annabeth pulled back the baby blue covers on the bottom bunk and laid down, wrapping them around her. She peeked at Percy who was still standing in front of her. "You can lay down Percy," Annabeth almost laughed, "it's not like we haven't slept together before," Percy raised an eyebrow, presenting an amused smile."Not like that," she affixed quickly, "I mean yeah but… no… I don't- it doesn't matter," she shook her head at her inability to complete a coherent sentence, "just get in the bed,"

Percy didn't need to be told twice. He kicked off his shoes and stretched out next to her, above to covers. Annabeth almost immediately protested and, after a quick argument, the thin bedspread was fanned over the both of them. Percy had his arm wrapped around Annabeth, who was tucked into a ball, snuggled into his side. He stared up at the wooden planks above him that screamed IKEA and thought about something he liked to avoid, his feelings.

It was just easier that way. It made his life so much simpler to keep feeling out of work, out of relationships. It was why he liked one night stands. He never saw a girl more than once or twice. They all bore him, and anyways, it seemed cruel to involve them in his crazy world. Then his manager had forced him into dating Claire, and it'd been nice at the beginning. It provided him with the friend and companion that he so desperately needed while Grover and Nico had been busy with work. But then she wanted more, something he couldn't give her. He'd seen so many relationships turn sour, he was fully prepared to live life a cold hearted bachelor, never settling down. It was what made the most sense to him… or at least that's what he'd thought.

Then he'd met Annabeth. He closed his eyes, thinking back to the first time he'd seen her.

* * *

He'd been watching a young couple hilarious attempts to swing dance while plastered when she'd tapped him. He remembered turning around and being first struck by a pair of mysterious looking gray eyes. They intimidated and intrigued him at the same time. He was sure, if given time to stare into them, he would have seen the gray swirls moving around like the sky during a storm. They were positively unnerving. It didn't help that the girl behind them was fiercely gorgeous

"Hey," he swallowed hard, his eyes running down her body, admiring the way her dress clung to her in all the right places. He ran his hand through his hair nervously.

"Hi," she replied, looking slightly lost.

"I'm Percy," he held out a hand, regaining his confidence.

"Hi," She repeated. _I've got this one in the bag_ , he flashed her a charming smile that had made so many before her melt.

"So do you have a name or…" the girl didn't answer but it didn't matter because he'd already seen her name tag, _Piper._ It didn't really seem to suit her. "Well Piper," he directed his charismatic gaze towards her and was surprised to see she wasn't paying attention to him. She was watching something behind him. He waited impatiently for her to turn back to him.

"What?" she smiled widely. Percy heart thumped out of his chest. Was he having a heart attack? What was going on?

"Can I buy you a drink?" he asked with a slight frown, but she didn't seem to notice.

"Sorry I have to work," he felt her eyes scan his body and puffed out his chest, "besides I don't get drinks with strangers."

"C'mon," Percy was not dazed by her rejection, girls often played hard to get with him. For some reason they believed the more he couldn't have them, the more he'd want them. Sure it worked, but it got old fast, _really_ fast. "Where you from?"

"Why?" he heard her almost snort, "Are you gonna track me down?"

"Maybe," he smiled slyly, "maybe I just want to get to know you better," he took a step closer to her, "then I won't be a stranger"

"I still have to work," she replied quicker than he would have expected.

"Are you sure," he asked, preoccupied by a perky ringlet that kept bouncing just right of her eye. "I'm quite a catch," he said, absentmindedly reaching out to touch her hair. His fingers grasped the golden curl and he realized how weird what he'd just done was, _fuck_ , he thought. He pushed the strand behind her ear, hoping to play if off as another of his suave moves.

"Sorry, you're not my type." _But I'm everyone's type_ , he wanted to say, but her cold tone warned him not to.

"Your loss," he shrugged, trying to rid himself of the odd feeling this girl, Piper, had inspired. "Can you set me up with a table?" As she replied, his eyes strayed to the back of the room, where a table full of girls were smiling and winking at him. Percy followed Piper to his table.

"If you need anything call me over," he nodded then waved over the clad of over tanned women. They rushed over and made it their job to revive his ego, placing their hands all over him as they spoke.

"You look so much hotter in real life than in the magazines," a skinny platinum blonde assured him.

"Oh soo much hotter," the brunette directly next to him agreed, tracing her fingers up and down his arm. Percy wanted to pay attention to the obviously attractive females around him but for some reason couldn't keep his eyes on his new acquaintance, Piper. She was leaning against the wall near the entrance of the VIP section.

"Piper!" Percy yelled, not letting her get to comfortable. She whipped her head around, wide eyed.

 _Me?_ She mouthed, raising her eyebrows, looking confused. Maybe she wasn't as smart as he'd assumed. But he'd been so sure of what he'd seen in those eyes, they couldn't lie.

"Yes you!" he gestured for her to come closer. Percy heard the girls around him whisper disgruntled. He leaned back against the couch as the only girl who'd really caught his attention tonight neared.

"What?" she said curtly, eyeing the girls around him.

"I thought waitresses were supposed to be polite to customers," he looked to the girls around him for support, hoping to bother her.

"Mhm," the girls confirmed. Percy barely registered their reply, he found himself fully captivated by the hard determination in her eyes and her contrasting smile.

"I'm sorry," her smile looked so forced Percy almost laughed, "What can I do for you tonight sir?" The way her lips curled as the last word left her mouth made him smirk, the way her eyes skimmed his body made him uneasy. Nevertheless with his next statement he sought only to provoke her more.

"I'll have an old fashioned and what about you girls? What do you want?" She stood her ground fiercely and he cocked an eyebrow, even though she wasn't writing any orders down he somehow knew she would remember them all. After meeting who he later found out was Annabeth, he would forever question the dumb blonde stereotype.

"And will that all be on your tab Mr…" her eyes never left his.

"Jackson," he cut in, leaning forward, "And yes, that'll be on my tab," he grinned, falling back onto the couch, into the arms of hot Hollywood hopefuls. Piper's lips twitched from an unconvincing smile into a straight line. She turned swiftly on her heel and strode off to the bar.

"OMG, she totally thinks you're like totally dreamy," the platinum blonde next to me snickered in a valley girl accent.

"You think?" Percy smiled thoughtfully. He couldn't deny he was interested in her, fascinated even. In the moment, though he felt it,he was not willing to admit that he was delightfully intoxicated by the thrill of simply interacting with her, seduced by her bewitching eyes.

* * *

As the both lie on the bed, Percy held Annabeth a little tighter. "Annabeth," he spoke out loud, enjoying the way it rolled off his tongue. It sounded much better than Piper. Not that there was anything wrong with Piper, but it just wasn't… her.

Percy peered down at her, watching her stir in her sleep at the mention of her name. He lightly stroked the velvety skin of her forearm. "Percy" she muttered in her sleep and his heart leapt.

"Ughh," he groaned quietly, not wanting to wake her but unable to stop the sound. He wasn't supposed to care. It had only been one week and whenever they were apart he caught himself thinking of her. Everytime she spoke he found himself fully engrossed in her every word.

He wasn't supposed to care. It got him in trouble when he did. It could get her in trouble. _Shit, this could get her in_ soo _much trouble_. He grimaced and dragged his free hand down his face. He cared more about her well being than his own. _Shit_ , he thought, in that moment realizing how royally screwed they both were.

The door creaked open, startling Percy out of his Annabeth induced tangent. Piper stepped in the room, quietly shutting the door behind her. She placed her clutch next to the fruit bowl and slipped out of her uncomfortable shoes with a relieved sigh. She tiptoed over to the bottom bunk and spotted Percy.

"Percy?" Piper whispered confused.

"Yes," Percy gently unwound his arm from around Annabeth, "I picked her up," he said quickly, as if that would explain the reason he was in her bed.

"Percy?" Piper repeated still puzzled by the sight before her.

"That's me," he tried a smug smile but he had too much on his mind and it came out sad looking.

"You should go," Piper's voice was quiet but incredibly cold. Percy nodded and picked up his shoes. Not bothering to put them back on he made his way to the door.

"Piper," Percy said cautiously. Piper's head perked up from across the room, "go easy on her," he opened the door to the hallways, "it sounds like she's had a hard night," he closed it behind him. He walked down the hall, towards the main entrance, dually trying to pull his shoes back on. His hand was inches from the metal door handle when he froze. He sighed, turning back to look at Annabeth's room he realized what he had to do.

He swung open the front doors and took a deep breath, savoring the cold morning air. Without stopping, he reached for his phone and slowly dialed Claire's number. The call rang as he brought phone to his ear.

"It's three in the morning," she answered after the third ring.

"Okay," he ignored her tone, "I agree," he heard a rustle of movement on the other end,

"What?" Claire asked incredulously.

"I agree to your terms," Percy heard Claire laugh unbelieving, "I'll be over in a minute to discuss," he hung up the phone before she could answer.

 **Sorry, it's short. I'm in mourning over what our country has become.**


	43. Chapter 43

**AN: Sorry sorry sorry sorry this is so late but it was a serious of unfortunate events that led me not to update. First I was hit with a massive amount of homework, then I got sick, then my computer's hard drive broke (in the middle of writing my essay mind you), and lastly it was Thanksgiving so a dozen of my relatives came into town. So anyway, here's the chapter, hope you enjoy.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own any of the wonderful characters thought up by Rick Riordan. It's my first fanfiction and I would love to not get sued.**

The next morning Annabeth woke up with a blinding headache and a slightly impaired memory. She turned off her alarm and groaned, curling into a ball, attempting to return the the blissfully numbing world of sleep.

"Good you're up," Annabeth peeked at Piper, revealing a thin sliver of gray, "You don't have time to shower but I do have a hangover cure so," she held out a beige smoothie, "drink up." Annabeth sat up stretching.

"What's in it?" She took the drink and eyed the brown chunks that were floating around in it.

"Advil?" Piper shrugged, "Trust me, just drink it." Annabeth, still half drunk from the night before, plugged her nose and gulped it down in blind trust.

"Oh my gods," she unplugged her nose and gagged, "what's-" she clapped a hand over her mouth, dry heaving, "that's so bad,"

"I probably should have let you throw up a few times before you drank that," Piper watched Annabeth struggle to keep the strange drink down, "Oh well, you don't have the time anyways" Piper threw Annebeth's clothes at her, still harboring a little anger from the night before, "Put these on, we're leaving in 10."

"Ow," Annabeth murmured as one of the buttons hit her straight in the eye. She pulled on her stiff khaki shorts and buttoned her hawaiian shirt. Annabeth ran her fingers through her hair and was met with an enormous knot. Sighing, she made her way into the bathroom and picked up a hairbrush.

"Do you remember what happened last night?" Piper asked her, leaning against the white bathroom doorframe.

"No," Annabeth said, running the rigid bristles through her tangled hair. She turned to face Piper and was filled with an feeling of fuzzy recognition. She stopped brushing her hair, momentarily putting down her brush and deja vu became a full blown memory, "Percy," she said quietly, forgetting Piper was there.

"So you do remember?" Piper asked straightfaced.

"No," Annabeth shook her head. Why had Percy been in her room? And why did she remember the memory fondly? She hated Percy... right? "Only bits and pieces. Did we have a fight?" She faintly remembered herself yelling and Piper's eyes filling with tears, "We were dancing weren't we? Was I with Percy?"

"Yes," Piper replied, "to all,"

"What happened?" Annabeth went back to brush her hair.

"It's a- I'll tell you later," Piper said, not in the mood the rehash the event of the night prior.

"Okay," Annabeth put down her brush and stared at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were ringed with residue makeup, her lips were still red from her lipstick and her hair was a bushy puff of blonde, "Gods," Annabeth laughed sarcastically, "I look great," Piper smiled, happy to see her friend was in a better mood. Annabeth picked up a hair tie and pulled her unruly hair back into a ponytail.

* * *

Annabeth was stacking boxes near the front of the emporium when a group of girls passed, all staring down at their phones.

"She's better than Percy anyways," one told the other. Annabeth froze at his name. She slyly positioned herself so she could better hear their shrill voices.

"Yeah," the tall bone skinny blonde laughed, "But I'd still fuck him in an instant,"

"I can't believe he would do that,"

 _Do what?_ Annabeth wanted to call out. _No_ , she reminded herself, _I don't care about Percy_. She shook her head, how was it that she was fully distracted at the slightest mention of him? Annabeth took a deep breath and tried to block out the girls who had, much to her dismay, decided to flip through the postcards to her right.

"Yeah," she thought she heard them all agree.

"I thought he was better than that," the smallest one chipped. Annabeth finally gave into temptation and began eavesdropping, wondering if what they said could have something to do with her. She had, after all, been with Percy the night before.

"I don't think she's that pretty honestly," the bleach blonde added quickly becoming bored with the typical beach panorama postcards. Annabeth swallowed hard. They could be talking about her, right?

"She's not even that famous though," the brunette laughed before leading the rest of them to the towel shack. Annabeth eyes widened, her throat felt as dry as the Sahara desert. The minute they were out of earshot Annabeth ran back to the cash register where Piper was working. She tapped her foot impatiently as a young couple purchased a pair of flipflops.

"What happened with Percy?" Annabeth questioned, slamming her hands down on the counter.

"I don't know," Piper gave her a strange look and tried to crack a roll of quarters.

"Piper," Annabeth pleaded, "you have to know something,"

"Sorry I don't," she shrugged, "but you might want to check the news," she popped her orange gum.

"What?" Wordlessly, Piper reached into a drawer and picked up Annabeth's phone. She handed it to her with a look that said, _don't do anything stupid_. And, successfully this time, cracked the roll of quarters.

Annabeth gray eyes quickly scanned the room for their supervisor. Noting she was preoccupied yelling at a male employee Annabeth backed up into a rack of t-shirt, hoping to remain hidden among the different shades of blue. She opened her phone and searched Percy's name. Almost immediately, dozens of news articles came up.

 **CLAIRE ALLEBACH CONFIRMS HER SPLIT FROM PERCY JACKSON**

 **PERCY JACKSON- A GOLD DIGGER?**

 **CLAIRE ALLEBACH DEVASTATED AFTER BEING USED FOR ONLY HER MONEY**

 **PERCY JACKSON AND CLAIRE ALLEBACH SPLITSVILLE- BUT WHY?**

Annabeth scrolled through the headlines. She clicked on one,

 **PERCY JACKSON- ONLY IN IT FOR THE FAME?**

And read.

 **From what we knew, it was all smooth sailing for Percy Jackson and Claire Allebach. Yet, just this morning, Claire confirmed their break up. But what's even more shocking is the supposed reason for their split. According to Allebach, he was only ever interested in her for fame. "He [Percy Jackson] revealed his true colors and now she [Claire Allebach] is devastated. She was in love and isn't sure if she will ever be able to move on." An insider told Stars Magazine.**

Annabeth stopped reading. The deja vu surrounding the issue seemed so tangible she could have cut it with a knife. Annabeth furrowed her brows, reaching deep into her memory. She remembered being in Percy's car and him explaining something but was unable to recall the subject which he'd chosen to discuss with her.

"Ugh," Annabeth groaned. She squeezed her eyes shut and called to mind his statement from yesterday, 'keep your eyes on the news.' She shook her head. Why would he want her to see this? Nothing made sense to her right now. And all these confusing interconnected memories were doing nothing to help her throbbing head. She decided to talk to Percy before reading any farther. She found his number in her phone and, against her better judgement, sent him a message.

 **Meet me tonight, on the beach.**

She glanced around the room and verified that her supervisor was still busy. She drummed her fingers on the glass screen, waiting for his answer. Lucky for her, Percy always seemed to have his phone around.

' **Tonight' is an awfully vague**.

Annabeth fought a smile as she imagined him saying it with his signature smirk.

 **As is 'beach'**

He added.

 **Fine**

Annabeth texted back,

 **North Beach at 10.**

She clarified, mentally working out the amount of time she'd need to get back from Jake's Seafood Grill after her shift.

 **Okay**

Annabeth let out a satisfied sigh at his reply and returned her phone to Piper.

"Everything okay?" She asked, taking the phone from Annabeth's hands.

"I think s-"

"Annabeth," she jumped at the sound of Shirley's voice, "I will not tolerate these shenanigans during working hours," their supervisor stormed over, "go back to the front of the store," she hissed red faced. Annabeth nodded with a polite smile and bounded over to the front, behind her she could hear Shirley berating Piper for 'obnoxiously' chewing her gum.

* * *

Late that night, Annabeth made her way down to the beach. Percy had not yet arrived so she took a seat and slipped off her shoes, burying her toes in the cold sand. Annabeth took a deep breath and stared out into the dark sea before her. The waves lapping over the almost gray sand and then rolling back into themselves.

She wondered what Percy would have to say. From the headlines she had deduced that he and Claire were broken up, the question was _why_. Annabeth couldn't help but wonder if he'd done it for her. A smile crept over her face and she was instantly filled with guilt. How could she be rejoicing over their split when Claire was 'devastated'?

 _This is ridiculous_ , she yelled at herself. _I don't care, I can't care. Where is this supposed to go? When summer ends you'll never see each other again. Don't do this to yourself, you don't want to end up hurt._ Annabeth pulled her knees up to her chin, tucking herself into a ball. But what if she did care? Was there anything she could do? _Yes,_ her rational side argued, _you could never see him again. Ignore the feelings and they'll disappear eventually._ She wanted to forget Percy. To go back to a time before him, when she wasn't thinking of him every other minute, distracting herself with images of the ocean behind his eyes. But he'd been around less than a week and he'd already hurt her.

 _The good times make up for all the hurt, don't they_? The less level headed part of her brain appealed. Annabeth found herself smiling as she recounted the time's she had spent with Percy. She hadn't had so much fun in months, years maybe. Her thighs tightened as her mind wandered to their time on the boat. She couldn't deny it had been incredible.

 _That's just because it had been so long_ , she reasoned, _that's why it felt so good, nothing more._ She nodded to herself, agreeing with her own conjecture.

 _Are you willing to risk it?_ A voice nagged her, _if you let him go now you'll never see him again._ "Ughh," Annabeth groaned audibly running her finger roughly through her hair. Her head was still spinning when she heard Percy behind her.

"You okay?" he asked with a chuckle, having obviously heard her groan. His tone was lighthearted but Annabeth detected a note of concern in his eyes.

"Yeah," she reassured him taking a deep breath, "sit," she patted the sand.

"How are you?" he took a seat down next to her.

"Hungover, confused" replied Annabeth, then continued, eager to get answers on the questions that had plagued her mind all day, "What happened between you and Claire?"

"We broke up," Percy turned to her, he expected a wide smile but instead was received with an expression of confusion, "I thought you'd be happy,"

"Why did you break up?" Annabeth asked with pursed lips.

"After last night I realized-" he took a deep breath, thinking it through "I realized I want to give us a real chance and I can't do that with Claire threatening us every step of the way,"

"What happened last night?" Annabeth asked the second question that had been bothering her.

"I was hoping you could tell me," Percy chuckled, shaking his head slightly, "You called very _very_ drunk and asked me to pick you up."

"Did you?" she asked, a disappointed undertone accompanying her question.

"Of course," he frowned at her doubt, "And then I took you back to your room." Annabeth raised her eyes to meet his.

"That's all?" Her gaze questioning

"That's all," he smiled.

"I'm the reason you broke up then?" Annabeth narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously, "that's why? That's the truth?"

"I'm guessing you've seen the news," Annabeth nodded and he sighed, "um," he glanced over at her, unsure where to start, "You don't remember anything from last night?"

"Bits and pieces," Annabeth replied, her eyes wandering back out into the ocean, mildly embarrassed she'd acted so recklessly, "I remember dancing, fighting with Piper," she scrunched up her nose in deep concentration, "I think I remember throwing up, getting in your car?" She turned to Percy for confirmation. He reassured her with a nod of his head and motioned for her to go on, "you drove me back here and… we kissed." she added in a quieter voice. Had the beach not been so silent in it's desertion, he might not have heard her.

"The day before yesterday I told Claire I wanted to break up," Percy leaned back onto one hand as the other ran through his dark hair, "But she had the photos of us," he heard Annabeth suck in a breath, "photos that could hurt the both of us. She gave me two options, one:" he held out his index finger to indicate the number, "I could stay with her and she would not reveal the photos to anyone or two: We could break up, but only in such a way that would cause me an enormous amount of embarrassment in the media."

"So you chose?"

"Well," Percy continued, "at first I thought I wouldn't have to. I was sure her 'embarrassing' breakup involved leaking the photos and as of yesterday morning I was almost certain you wanted nothing to do with me."

"Sorry about that," Annabeth stared down at her bare feet in the sand, "I-um" she bit her lip, uncertain how she could rationally explain her actions from the day before without revealing too much of her past, "I just-"

"It's fine," Percy could tell she was troubled, "I've already forgotten."

"Are you sure?" Annabeth asked dubiously, "I think I owe you an explanation,"

"You do," Percy replied after a moment of thought, "but the time will come for that. Right now I want not to speak of you or me but of us,"

"Okay," Annabeth eyed him at the strange structure of his sentence, "but what 'us' is there?"

"Let me finish," Percy tapped his fingers on the sand nervously, leaving small imprints of his fingertips, "How much did you read about our break up online?"

"Not much," Annabeth assured him, "only a few headlines,"

"After I left you," Percy eyes were glued to his dancing fingers, "I met with Claire and we… negotiated. She agreed to break it off, give me the photos and leave your name out of it all as long as I went along with the story she told the press."

"Percy-" Annabeth tried to interrupt wide eyed but he advanced.

"I, of course, agreed and am now the 'gold digger of Hollywood' as one magazine so nicely put it." he wore a cocky smirk, as if he were pleased with his new label.

"You shouldn't have done that," Annabeth reached out to touch his arm, amazed by what he had done for her, "you have to take it back. That could affect your friends, family, your career-"

"Don't you see Annabeth?" Percy shook her laughingly, "I doesn't matter what others think as long as you know the truth."

"But your family-" Annabeth persisted but Percy dismissed her argument with a simple wave.

"Anyone who knows me well will know the reports are not true," A small small formed on Annabeth's dimly lit face and slowly grew into a wide grin, causing Percy to also smile, "Annabeth Chase, will you be my girlfriend?" Just like that, Annabeth's cheery expression disappeared completely.

"What?" she asked in a somber voice, hoping she'd heard wrong.

"Go out with me," he rephrased in a less enthusiastic tone, confused by her sudden change in attitude.

"Percy," she wiggled her toes farther under the sand. _Has he forgotten I have a job? Claire is not the only thing standing in our way._ "You know I cannot,"

"Oh," Percy furrowed his brows then widened his eyes in realization, "Ohhh, how could I have forgotten?"

"Percy, I really care about you," she picked her words carefully. She might have needed her job but that wasn't the real reason she was keeping herself from Percy. If they started dating it would all become real. She was already infatuated with him to a point where she'd gone against her better judgement. Most of all Annabeth knew that if they dated she would become too attached. At the end of summer they'd both have to go back to highschool. They would have over 2500 miles standing between them. There was no way their relationship would survive. She didn't want to get hurt again and she knew Percy had the capability to hurt her more than anyone else, he could rip her heart to pieces if he wanted to. She couldn't get hurt again. She wouldn't get hurt again. _No dating_ Annabeth promised herself in that moment and continued her explanation to Percy, "but I cannot put my future at stake for…" Annabeth was tempted to say 'a fling' but thought that might be a tad inconsiderate to his feelings and settled for a more ambiguous term, "you."

"I get it," Percy said in an easy tone but the blue in his eyes looked pained. He looked ready to leave so Annabeth provided him some insight into her state of seemingly constant cautiousness.

"I'm scared," Percy raised an eyebrow at her abrupt statement, "I had so much and I lost it all. Now that I have a little I can't risk losing it again."

"It's okay, Annabeth," he told her with a smile that was only for her comfort, "I asked too much of you."

"But I'm also afraid," Annabeth ignored his declaration and continued on her train of thought, "that by being afraid I am closing myself off to opportunities where I could gain so much," She met Percy's gaze with her own, "you being one of those opportunities I think I ought to give us a chance,"

Percy's eyes brightened, "so yes?"

"No," Annabeth almost laughed at his bewilderment, "but I would like this to continue,"

"But you just said no," Percy cut in puzzled.

"I let you finish," Annabeth scolded him playfully, enjoying his annoyance, "now let me. Although I cannot be your girlfriend in public or anywhere at all really, I would enjoy the title of a friend,"

"Okay," Percy agreed to her terms but was unsatisfied, luckily for him Annabeth continued.

"I also would not mind introducing you to a few of my friends. After all, friends know friends of friends."

Percy smiled at her confusing statement, "I've met Piper on numerous occasions,"

Annabeth rolled her eyes, "Piper is not my only friend," she scoffed before moving to her last request, "And would it be too selfish on me to ask you not date anyone else,"

"Ever?" Percy replied in mock shock. Annabeth shot him a serious look which made him grin, "I would not think of it," Annabeth smiled, impressed she had worked out such a convenient relationship for her. "But," Percy said suddenly, causing Annabeth to tilt her head slightly to meet his eyes, "surely that's not all?"

"What do you mean?"

"Sweeten the pot the a little bit," he shrugged nonchalantly.

"Sweeten the pot?" Annabeth replied in disbelief.

"Yeah, you know," he gave her a lopsided smile that was strangely seductive, "what else can you offer me?" Annabeth rolled her eyes easily discerning what he wanted from her. She put on a flirtatious smile and leaned into him.

Bringing her lips to his ear she whispered, "I guess there is one last thing," Annabeth felt him relax and nipped at his ear, causing him to tense up all over again.

"And what exactly would that be?" his breathed, his voice suddenly husky.

"Some might call it knocking boots," she replied even though she could tell he'd been hoping for something a little dirtier.

"Mh," he laughed, "I love it when you talk old western to me," She giggled softly, her lips slowly traveling down to his. She pressed a soft kiss his lips and felt his lips part under the pressure. He brought his arms up to encircle her waist and fell back, holding her flush to him.

"Mm!" Annabeth squealed in surprise as his body hit the sand and hers hit his. She could feel his taut muscles flexing underneath her as one of his hands slowly made it's way up her spine, sending small pulses of electricity through her. The kiss was feverish and sensual. His tongue stroking hers in a delightful suggestive manner. He released her from his vice grip allowing her to reposition herself so she was straddling his hips, elbows on either side of his head, balancing her weight. In the process his lips latched on to her neck, trailing hungry kisses along her clavicle.

 **Alert: Limón**

"Annabeth," he whispered into her as his hands tugged at the hem of her t-shirt. She leaned back and raised her hands above her head, enabling him to pull it over her head. "Gods Annabeth," he murmured, his large hands kneaded her breasts.

"Percy," she gasped as he tugged hard at one of her nipples then took it in his mouth, swirling his tongue around the prominent pebble. "Don't stop,"

"Don't say that," Percy growled and flipped them over, caging her body with his strong arms, "I just might listen," he blew cold air onto her nipples and raised his eyes to meet hers.

"Why don't you?" Annabeth croaked. Percy laughed hoarsely and ripped off the shirt Annabeth had been attempting to get off of him for the last minute.

"What do you want Annabeth?" he gruffed. Annabeth wrapped her arms around his neck and arched into him, eager to crash her lips upon his again. She pillowed his plump bottom lip with hers. His hardening bulge was pressing into her thigh igniting a wave of confidence within her.

"Thought I'd made that obvious," she felt him twitch at her words and rolled her hips against his, hoping to get a rise out of him. He didn't say anything but she heard his breath hitch. Annabeth pulled away slightly, just far enough so they could see each other eyes but close enough that her words still tickled his skin. "I want you to fuck me Percy," she pouted playfully, staring up at him, eyes nearly black with desire.

"Fuck," he rumbled, slipping a hand past the elastic waistband of her athletic shorts and cupping her burning core. He carefully stroked her dripping center. "Ready for me already I see," he noted in a mischievous tone. Annabeth rolled her eyes but didn't comment. He stayed like that for much longer than Annabeth deemed necessary, slowing running his finger along her warm slit.

"Don't tease me-," Annabeth inhaled sharply as he stuck two digits in her and quickly pumped in and out with his slender fingers. She felt a pressure building in her lower abdomen. Annabeth head rolled back and Percy's lips attached themselves to neck again, sucking a trail of lovely bruises all the way to her collar bone. Percy fingers found her g-spot and her hips jerked forward. He noticed the effect it had on her and continued in the same spot.

He pulled back, freeing her neck, and stared down at her. He had never seen a more arousing image in his life. Her face was flushed, her lips bruised from rough kisses, blonde ringlets had escaped her ponytail and she was writhing against the sand, eyes shut firmly. He bent down and pressed a soft kiss to her lips as she came. She nibbled on his bottom lip, imploring him to continue. Percy groaned, a pant tent had fully formed in his pants. Annabeth gritted her teeth, trying to muffle the cry that erupted when her powerful orgasm ripped through her body.

"Percy," she whimpered pathetically as he pulled his fingers out of her. She opened her dark grey eyes and looked up at his blue green orbs.

"What?" He smiled smugly. Annabeth breathed heavily in response, still coming down from her high. She reached a hand down and gave his hard dick a quick squeeze through his slacks.

"You know what I want," she said firmly, bringing her other hand to assist in unzipping his pants. She was surprised when Percy brought his own down to stop her.

"Tell me," he smiled down at her. Annabeth pursed her lips, she could tell he was teasing and wouldn't give in. She had never begged before and didn't plan on it happening anytime soon.

"You know what I want," she repeated, swatting away his hands away. She heard Percy breath unevenly as she took his cock in her hand, softly stroking it, spreading the precum that had formed at the tip. She felt Percy shudder above her and removed her hand from his shaft to push down her shorts but he was already on it.

Percy's fingers hooked around the band of both her shorts and panties and in one sweep they were both at her ankles. Annabeth roughly kicked them off her legs and spread her legs. She used her hand to position Percy's prick at the perfect angle and waited for him to thrust into her. Except he didn't.

"Percy," Annabeth hissed impatiently rubbing her heat against him.

"Annabeth," he tsked smirking, "I want to hear you say it,"

"I already said it," Annabeth wriggled beneath him, hoping to tempt him into giving up but he was determined.

"Annabeth," he sang, running his dick up and down her feverish opening.

"I-I-I" A strangled breath escaped her as he dipped just the tip into her, "Fuck me Pe-!" She almost screamed. Percy didn't wait for her to finish. He plunged into her, releasing a symphony of moans from Annabeth. His large hands gripped her waist, smashing her body against his over and over again.

Annabeth threw her arms around Percy, holding him close. One hand clawing at the back of his hand the other snug around his neck. She hooked her legs around his waist, her heels digging into his rounded butt as he pounded into her.

"harder," she panted next to his ear, then threw her head back, mouth partially parted. Percy grinned and pulled out of her completely. "Pe-" Annabeth began to complain but he was already thrusting back into her, harder, deeper this time. "Fuck" she managed to breath as he propelled into her at full force, shifting their bodies slightly with every movement. He could feel her nails digging into his shoulder and was sure they would leave delicious crescent shaped marks. Percy released her waist to palpate her clit.

"Are you close?" Percy grunted, feeling himself near his end.

Annabeth didn't answer but her body did. She trembled in pleasure underneath him, letting free a new wave of moans. She cried out his name as her body spasmed out of her control. Her pussy clenched around his dick pulling him over the edge with her. He let out an animalistic grunt and continued thrusting, though more slowly as he began to also lose control. His jerks became eradicate as he released ropes of his seed inside her. Percy's body slowly came to a halt and he slumped onto Annabeth, feeling her heart pound against his. Once he had enough energy he pulled out of her and lay next to her on the cold sand. Annabeth bit back a whimper, knowing it would sound desperate, at the empty feeling she now endured. They both remained that way for sometime, trying to catch their breath, listening to the ocean waves break along the coast.

"Wow I'm good," Percy was the first one to speak.

"Wow you're cocky," Annabeth lulled her head to the side to throw him a dirty look but was met with a good natured grin that told her he was joking. She returned his smile and as she stared through his dark eyelashes into his bright blue green eyes she felt a warm feeling in her chest, a feeling she feared because it always led to pain. In that moment she knew her promise had come too late, she was already falling.


	44. Chapter 44

**A/N: Thank you everyone for following and favoriting. I also wanted to thank you all for writing me such lovely reviews. They keep me motivated.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own any of the wonderful characters thought up by Rick Riordan. Anyways, enjoy!**

The next morning Annabeth woke up at 7:20am and greeted Piper who was groaning about having to work on a Sunday.

"I know," Annabeth argued, "but we knew what we were signing up for," she was already changed and was eating the makeshift breakfast of two hard boiled eggs and a banana. "Look on the bright side," she said through a big bite of the fruit, "at least we didn't get the five o'clock desk job like Hazel."

Piper exited the bathroom where she'd been finishing her makeup, "You've been looking on the bright side an awful lot lately," she raised an eyebrow at Annabeth.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Annabeth's chewing slowed as she attempted to come up with a believable explanation for her drastic change in demeanor.

"Annabeth," Piper scoffed, "you frowned all of yesterday and then after I got back from my shift I didn't see you frown once." Piper smirked at Annabeth's obvious distress, "In fact you never stopped smiling,"

"So," Annabeth finished her banana and began innocently searching around the room for her phone even though she knew exactly where it was.

"So spill the beans," Piper crossed her arms across her chest and narrowed her suspiciously at a pacing Annabeth. It quickly became clear that Annabeth wasn't going to let on so Piper offered her own theory. "Something happened between you and Percy, right?"

Annabeth bit the inside of her cheek. She didn't want to say anything. She wouldn't say anything. She knew Piper would only encourage her feelings, something she was desperately trying to get rid of. "No," she lied.

"Annabeth I saw your texts," Piper confessed, though without a trace of guilt, "I know you saw him yesterday,"

"Why were you going through my phone?" Annabeth snapped whipping her head around to face Piper.

"Oh please," Piper waved away her wave of anger, "my computer died and so I had to use yours and your imessage was open. What was I supposed to do? Not read it." she laughed as if it were unimaginable.

"Yes!" Annabeth hissed, "out of respect for my privacy,"

"Annabeth we are within 100 feet of each other for 20 hours everyday, I think privacy went out the window a while ago," Annabeth huffed in disagreement but refrained from commenting, internally admitting she would have done the same. "So want to tell me why you're so happy all of a sudden?" Piper's face lit up, "Are you two finally dating?"

"No," Annabeth negated quickly, "sorry," she apologized realizing the coldness of her tone, "it's complicated," Annabeth decided it was time and finally fake spotted her phone and pretended to have found it. She pressed the home button checking the time.

7:50

"We should go," she slipped on her sandals, picked up her bag and held the door open for Piper who stared at her disapprovingly. "I'll tell you on the way," Annabeth rolled her eyes and motioned for her friend to join her in the hallways.

"Fine," Piper slid her feet into her strappy shoes and strolled out the door, "but I want the truth," Annabeth nodded in agreement, tapping her fingers against the thin door impatiently as she closed it behind her.

* * *

"It sounds like you guys are dating," Piper surveyed with her eyebrow cocked. Annabeth had just finished explaining the relationship she and Percy had agreed to the night before.

"We're not," Annabeth was quick to contradict her, "there is no emotional stake in our relationship, it's strictly physical."

"If you guys a friends then there's an emotional component," she commented cautiously, "there always is,"

Annabeth pursed her lips. Deep down she knew Piper was right, she always had a sort of sixth sense when it came to affairs of the heart, but Annabeth would never admit to it. _Afterall_ , she reminded herself, _my heart isn't involved_.

"A boyfriend is, simply, your best friend." Piper continued, "A best friend you have sex with," she added noting Annabeth's pointed look.

"Are you saying the love you feel for Jason is the same you feel for me?" Annabeth questioned.

"Who said I loved you?" Piper joked. Annabeth sent her a small smile but it was clear in her inquisitive gray eyes that she was waiting for an answer. "It's hard to explain," Piper expounded, "it's love but… a different kind of love. You don't give me butterflies, Jason does"

"Exactly my point," Annabeth contended, "Percy and I only share a bond of platonic friendship, nothing romantic."

"So he doesn't give you butterflies?" Piper drawled incredulously, making her doubt clear "Doesn't spark something inside of you when you kiss?"

"No," Annabeth said softly, suppressing memories of the first time they'd met.

"Sure," Piper pushed past her as they arrived at the Emporium at 7:00am, just on time.

* * *

Annabeth hummed a summer tune as she neared the end of her third mindless task of the morning. She folded the last white t-shirt, stacking it on the ikea shelf. She took a step back and admired her work with pride. In front of her was a wide array of pristinely folded shirts, perfectly color coordinated. She smiled, surely Shirley would be pleased.

She was striding over to her supervisor to show her her hard work when a pair of strong hands gripped her waist and pulled her into a supply closet she'd been in no less than two days ago. Annabeth was fully prepared to kravmaga her way out of the closet when she recognized the 'stranger' who had dragged her in.

"Percy," she breathed relieved, "I was about to kick you," she scolded him but unable to smother the wide grin that had appeared on her face the minute she'd seen him, "don't sneak up on me like that."

"Mhm," he bent down, cupped her soft cheek in his rough hand and pressed his lips firmly to hers. She let herself come undone, wrapping her arms around his neck, trying to pull her body impossibly close to his. His lips moved in sync with hers as he slipped his tongue into her mouth.

"I have to go back to work," Annabeth broke the kiss breathlessly, "I'm not a 24/7 hook up Percy." she added a bit coldly.

"That's not way I'm here," Percy said with a frown, "I have a surprise for you," his wiggled his eyebrows at her, trying to hide the worry in his voice but Annabeth picked it up, easily recognizing the thin facade.

"What's the surprise?" Annabeth tried to sound excited but 1.) She assumed he was worried for a reason and 2.) She didn't especially like surprises.

"Don't." Percy lowered his mouth to her throat, just below her jaw, "Be." he kissed her softly, "Angry." He felt Annabeth tense despite his efforts to relax her.

"What's the surprise?" Annabeth repeated no attempts to disguise her tone this time.

"I know you said we couldn't be seen publicly but…" his words tickled her skin causing her body to shudder without her permission.

"Percy," Annabeth voice was dangerous. Percy pulled back and stared down at her, it was clear his kisses were not having the soothing effect he'd hoped.

"There's this fundraiser thing tomorrow and I thought you might want to go with me," he peered into her sharp gray eyes, "as friends of course," he assured her.

"I would," Annabeth voiced her struggle, "but my job." she explained for what she felt was the 100th time.

"That's all?" Percy asked glancing down at his feet which were shuffling nervously below him, "No other restrictions?"

"No," Annabeth lied. She was also worried the more time she spent with Percy the more attached to him she would become, but of course she'd never tell _him_ that.

"I may have been approached by the manager on an unrelated subject and explained to him that were old friends and asked him whether or not it would be okay for you to accompany me." He glanced up at her astounded expression. "I knew it would be too much," he shook his head slightly, scratching at the back of his neck, "I get it, you don't want to go."

"You talked to Shirley?" Annabeth asked confused, ignoring his post-explanation rambling. She knew her supervisor didn't have the power to make decisions like that. Percy shook his head. "Hannah?" she inquired.

"Bill," Percy said simply and was surprised by Annabeth's reaction of astonishment.

"You talked to Bill?" She asked wide eyed.

"Yeah," Percy spoke nonchalantly.

"When?" Annabeth questioned, wondering how Percy Jackson had spoken with her constantly busy and irritated boss.

"He asked me to have lunch with him and his daughter, I accepted" Percy shrugged as if it were nothing.

"And?" Annabeth urged him impatiently.

"And he asked me if I planned on attending the CCA gala tomorrow and if so who I was taking. I explained that I was hoping to take you, an old childhood friend who I'd met in San Francisco a decade ago."

"And he agreed?" Annabeth murmured quietly.

"Mhm," Percy chuckled at Annabeth's slightly ajar mouth, craning his neck down to press a sweet kiss to her temple. "So you'll go with me?" he smiled, assuming she would agree easily. He assumed wrong.

"Still doesn't explain why you'd talk to my boss about me without talking to me about it first," she gave him a pointed look.

"I-I" he stared down at her, blinking slowly, "I'm not sure," his lips curled into a bitter smile, "I guess I've never really had to consider other's feelings before." Annabeth bit her lip as he peered into her with beautiful puppy dog eyes, resisting the urge to kiss him in that moment, "I just kind of figured you would want to go with me," he lulled his head slightly to the side, "never thought you'd turn me down… but-" his eyes shone with realization.

Annabeth gave into temptation and lifted onto her toes to capture his lips with a slow silencing kiss. "I'll love to go with you," she whispered into him, "but in the future ask me before you ask my boss,"

Percy nodded, wrapping strong his arms around her, surrounding her in his warm embrace. "Good," he voice was slightly muffled by her hair, "because Bill already gave you the day off tomorrow,"

"I definitely do not need an entire day to get ready," Annabeth laughed, tracing small circles onto Percy's chest with her fingertips.

"Bill said you'd probably need the day to shop," she felt Percy shrug.

"Mh," Annabeth mused, "guess I've got to find a killer dress then." her mind wandering momentarily to how excited Piper would be.

"I couldn't care less about the dress," he spoke slowly, "as long as you're there with me, I'm thoroughly convinced everything will be perfect."

"Veering dangerously close to boyfriend territory there," Annabeth scolded him playfully. She pulled back giggling a girly giggle she never thought she'd hear come out of her mouth and as she did her heart leapt at the wide goofy grin that had spread across Percy's face.

This was gonna be bad, very bad. She could feel it deep inside her but after way Percy bright eyes had stared into hers she couldn't find it within herself to care.

* * *

"How did he manage that?" Piper asked stunned. After leaving the emporium Annabeth quickly briefed her on Percy's invitation.

"He said Bill invited him to lunch," Annabeth expounded. She was sitting on the edge of the bed. Her feet dangled off the edge as she zipped up her white boots for the Lux Lounge. "Percy said he was going and Bill asked if he had a date." She stood up boldly on her heels, feeling much more confident in her walking skill than she had two weeks ago. "That's when he told Bill we were old friends and asked if he could take me," Annabeth couldn't hide her slight smile as she told the story.

"Oh," Piper smiled enthusiastically but something in her eyes told Annabeth she was hiding something. Annabeth cocked a questioning eyebrow. "It's nothing…" Piper reassured her.

"Piper," Annabeth drawled skeptically.

"I may have heard a rumor," She mumbled hoping Annabeth wouldn't hear her and would let it go. She should have known better. Annabeth never let anything go.

"A rumor?" Annabeth repeated.

"One or two?" Piper shrugged making her way over to the bathroom to brush her hair.

"A rumor about what?" Annabeth felt something in her chest slowly deflating as she took a cold interrogating tone and followed Piper into the small white room.

"I heard Bill's _horrid_ daughter Lola bragging to her friends that she had lunch with Percy and that…" she puckered her lips as she ripped through a knot in her hair with their wooden brush, "that now that Percy is available, she is going to make Percy fall in love with her."

"Oh," Annabeth mimicked Piper's earlier stunned expression, nodding slowly. Her lip curled into a sour smile in attempt to hide her distaste.

"Don't worry about Lola, Annabeth." Piper ran the brush through her smooth shiny for the last time before putting it down, "You know she's all talk and no action. Remember the Justin bit."

"Mhm," Annabeth smiled turned genuine as she remembered the girl's quickie with singer Justin Bieber which she had drastically exaggerated into a romantic story of star crossed lovers. Justin had intended to make a statement to the press refuting the claims that they were secretly engaged but went mysteriously silent after visiting the hotel. It was a well known fact around the hotel that, to save his daughter's pride, Bill had paid him off. Though there were speculations and even bets around the hotel, it was still a mystery how much it had cost him.

"They didn't even have lunch so," Piper said with a laugh, "guess that's the first lie of their fake relationship," Annabeth went suddenly silent and didn't reply. Piper glanced over her shoulder at her, furrowing her brow"No," Annabeth's smile was slowly fading, "they did have lunch. It was Bill, Lola and Percy."

"I bet it was nothing," Piper turned to face her friend who was standing near the bathtub, "And next to you she has absolutely no chance," Annabeth didn't answer for the second time. "Annabeth," Piper waved a hand in front of her face trying to get her attention.

"Yeah?" Annabeth eyes jolted wide as she broke out of her trance.

"Percy really likes you," Piper said sweetly, running her hand comfortingly up and down Annabeth's arm, "and Lola kinda sucks," Annabeth faced her with a hopeful smile, "I'm sure he's noticed."

"You're right," Annabeth took a deep breath, "thanks," she pulled Piper into a small hug, glancing down at her phone in the process. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw it.

"What?" Piper asked quickly pulling away.

"1:26," Annabeth yelled, already running out the door into the kitchen. She quickly snatched her phone, the keys, her bag and sped out the front door. Piper followed close behind her. After sharing a quick goodbye in the lobby at 1:31 exactly they both raced in opposite directions.

Piper arrived only a few minutes late but Annabeth was less lucky. The Lux Lounge was much farther down the long luxurious hallways than the bar. She managed to reach the lounge by 1:43 was infinitely grateful that Hannah was her supervisor and not Shirley.

"Sorry I'm late, I-" she explained between pants, "I lost track of time."

"It's fine," Hannah waved off her tardiness as if it were a pesky fly, "just don't do it again."

"What do you need me to do?" Annabeth asked, eager to make it up to her.

"Jules wants your help with something by the controls. Something with the lights, not sure why Jules can't figure it out himself," she raised her voice so he might just hear her, "he was afterall hired especially to run the lights," Hannah laughed to herself, it was one of her favorite activities to bother Jules.

"I'll see what I can do," Annabeth smiled politely and dismissed herself with a courtly nod.

The rest of the afternoon went as well as it could have. The first show went surprisingly well, there were no delays in production and no mistakes on stage. Hannah was absolutely ecstatic, convinced the news travel to Bill and would ensure her promotion.

The second showing was set to go just as well when Annabeth was alerted to Percy's presence. Under normal circumstances his presence would have brightened her night but tonight was a little different, as she was soon to find out.

There were a few minutes until the late night show and Annabeth was directing a young couple to a pair of vacant seats when she spotted Percy from across the room. He was standing by the bar, leaning back against a support beam, hands in his pockets. Even across the room and through his thick eyelashes she was able to catch his bright eyes. The minute his blazing eyes caught hers the corner of his mouth tugged into a sexy smirk and Annabeth groaned internally. Why did he have to look so good? It only made things harder.

Annabeth gave the couple one last smile and an 'enjoy the show' before strutting over to Percy, swinging her hips from side to side in the process. She wanted to believe the action was subconscious but knew it was more probable that it was not. He pushed himself off the wall and stood up straight to greet her as she approached.

"You know," Annabeth said once he was within earshot, "there are only so many times you can watch this show without it looking suspicious," She fiddled with the rings of the notebook in her pocket in a failed attempt to take her mind off the warmth that filled her chest as grinned down at her.

"What?" his eyes glimmered with mischief, "I told you, I have a thing for spies" he leaned towards her, his hand gripping gently at the curve of her waist, "One in particular,"

"Percy," Annabeth quickly swatted his hand away from her body, "I'm working," She said in a scolding voice but she couldn't help a small smile.

"I know I know," Percy stepped back, putting a safe distance between them. "I came back here to… see how your dress search was coming,"

"Percy," Annabeth laughed, "You asked me less than 3 hours ago,"

"Okay," Percy rolled his eyes, "maybe I wanted an excuse to see you," his voice became lower, his hand twitched next to him as he resisted the urge to reach out and pull one of Annabeth's rogue curls behind her ear.

"You should work on your excuses," Annabeth pestered him, "not very believable."

"Looks like they work for you," Percy teased, noting the pint tint her cheeks had taken. The statement only made her blush deepen.

"Seriously though," Annabeth's tone turned serious, "you can't constantly show up where I'm working, not that I don't like it," she assured, "but it might look a little fishy if you show up to half of the spy shows and none of the others."

"I get it," Percy smiled understanding, "I really wouldn't have come tonight but Bill asked me to,"

"Oh?" Annabeth's expression implored him to elaborate.

"Yeah, he invited me during lunch," he shrugged, "said it might be fun. But I guess he had a late meeting that he couldn't' reschedule so Lola is keeping me company"

"Lola?" Annabeth flared

"That's his daughter," Percy quickly clarified.

"I know who Lola is," Annabeth hissed. Percy, who had assumed her changed demeanor was one of questioning was now confused by her acid tongue.

"Do you not like her or something?" he asked knitting his brows together, "She seems nice to me,"

"Of course she does," Annabeth voice was cold, she could practically feel the walls coming up around her heart again.

"Annabeth what's wrong?" Percy reached forward to stroke her cheek but she took an abrupt step back.

 _You're just being paranoid_ , she told herself. "It's nothing," Annabeth put on her best fake smile and advised, "be careful around her,"

"What do you mean?" Percy questioned curiously. Annabeth opened her mouth to answer but the lights dimmed, cutting their discussion short.

"I'll explain tomorrow," she shook off the sharp feeling of jealousy that she had still to acknowledge. Annabeth had an urge to kiss him before he left, and as his eyes lingered on her lips she knew he had the same thought, but felt it would be enormously inappropriate. She was at work! She shook her head as he gazed down at her, trying to rid her mind of very unwork-like ideas. Annabeth said goodbye and withdrew from the conversation.

She took a deep breath and walked over to mind her booths. She tried to return to her cool composed manner but it didn't help that she only had to shift her head a few centimeters to the side to spot Percy. Annabeth couldn't help but glance towards his booth every 5 minutes. It felt like a hand was slowly squeezing her heart as she observed the way Lola whispered dangerously close to Percy's ear and shifted her body so it would casually brush against his.

Percy, of course oblivious to it all, had a hard time keeping his eyes off Annabeth. Every time she walked down the aisle in her tight little dress all he wanted to do was pin her up against a wall and fuck her brains out. Every time she laughed and smiled politely at something the guests said he thought about how pretty her real smile was, how much he wanted to make her genuinely laugh. She kept looking over every few minutes but her pained eyes never managed to meet his.


	45. Chapter 45

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the wonderful characters thought up by Rick Riordan. Anyways, enjoy!**

"I'm thinking blue?" Thalia suggested, carding through a clearance rack. Piper had called her and convinced her to accompany Annabeth shopping since she was unable to do it herself.

"But I always wear blue," Annabeth complained.

"That's because you look so good in it," Thalia was working up her friend's ego.

"I guess," Annabeth replied half heartedly, "Ugh," she huffed, stomping her foot on the floor like a four year old throwing a tantrum. "Why can't I find anything I like?"

"Because this store sucks," Thalia explained for what felt like the 50th time today, "Please," she pleaded, "let's go to a nice store, I'll even buy your dress,"

"Thalia," Annabeth reprimanded, "I'm not some mooch," she shook her head. She wished she could take Thalia's offer but she couldn't use her friend like that.

"Annabeth," Thalia laughed, "trust me. I know first hand that you're no mooch. Think of it as your late birthday present,"

"Get me a book instead," Annabeth moved onto another rack, Thalia followed.

"You're so boring!" Thalia practically screamed, gaining the attention of the store attendant.

"Can I help you with something?" the pretty brunette asked, eyeing Thalia's jet black eyes and blue streaked hair. She didn't exactly look like the average gown shopper.

"Yeah, why do your dresses suck so much?" she drawled.

"Thalia!" Annabeth scolded, "I'm sorry, my _friend_ ," she shot Thalia a glare, "is a little crazy," The sales lady gave Thalia a pointed look. "Very crazy," Annabeth amended her previous statement, "We don't need anything, thank you though,"

"Okay," the brunette walked away cautiously.

"Could you not be like that?" Annabeth snapped at her friend.

"Annabeth please please please please let me take you to a new store," Thalia begged.

"No," Annabeth answered curtly.

"Please, please, please, please, please," she took a deep breath, "I'm not gonna stop,"

"I don't care," Annabeth replied nonchalantly and continued shopping.

"Annabeth Chase is dating a celebrity!" Thalia yelled this time, resorting to extortion. Annabeth whipped her head around to face her.

"Stop," she hissed quickly making her way over to Thalia.

"No," Thalia said in a normal voice then resumed her announcement, "Annabeth Chase is standing next to me, right here," she pointed, "and I am happy to announce that she is dating a movie star."

"Okay," Annabeth quickly conceded. She knew it wasn't worth it.

"Okay what?" Thalia asked.

"I'll let you take me to a new store," Annabeth recited the lines she knew her friend wanted to hear.

"And?" she urged her on.

"That's it," Annabeth decided.

"THIS MOVIE STAR HAS STARRED IN COUNTLESS MOVIES INCLUDIN-"

"And I'll let you pay for the dress," Annabeth gave in, "but only half of it," she quickly added.

"Three fourths?" Thalia bargained.

"Half," Annabeth said firmly, "And I won't budge,"

"Fine," Thalia grinned at how easily her friend could be manipulated when it involved her pride.

"Now let's get out of here," Annabeth laughed nervously, scanning the room of wide eyes, "everyone's watching us," Thalia wrapped an arm around Annabeth's shoulder and pulled against her. Arm in arm they strolled out the front doors.

"Sayonara bitches," Thalia couldn't help but yell just as the doors shut behind them.

"You're impossible," Annabeth rolled her eyes, hiding a smile.

* * *

"That's a wrap on the cabana scene," the director, Mark, yelled. Half the crew let out a sigh of relief and the other half began to whoop and applaud. Percy propped himself up on his elbows, putting distance between him and his co-star.

"So are you going tonight?" Merial asked, sitting up and letting her hair down from the weird bun wardrobe had insisted on.

"Yeah," Percy let a small smile creep onto his lips as he thought of Annabeth, "you?" Merial nodded her head in return.

"I know you and Claire broke up," Merial stated, making direct eye contact.

"It would be hard not to know at this point," Percy laughed.

"Congrats on getting rid of her. Do you have a date for tonight?" Merial asked.

"Yeah," Percy nodded.

"You met a girl?" Merial questioned brightly. For months she'd urged Percy to break up with Claire. She could tell how unhappy she made him. "What's her name?"

"Annabeth… but were just friends," he added quickly.

"Are you sure?" Merial inquired.

"Yes," Percy reassured her, "she's an old friend, from before all of this," he motioned around him.

"It's important not to lose those friendships," Merial mused, "they'll keep you grounded," Percy nodded understanding.

"Is Ralph going?" Ralph was Merial's husband. They'd been married four months ago and were the perfect example of deliriously happy newlyweds.

"He promised he'd go to at least five parties this month and, after a serious amount of begging, he finally agreed to this one. I know he doesn't like the whole social scene but I miss him," She explained. She and Ralph had been highschool sweethearts and after graduating he'd proposed. The two were luckily both attending California universities and were married at the young age of 20.

"I can't wait to meet him," Percy grinned. He heard many funny stories about Ralph and was eager to put a face to the name.

"I don't know Thalia," Annabeth agitated, "what if I absolutely love it?"

"Then you've found your dress," Thalia quirked as if it were obvious.

"But I can't afford this dress and we both know I'm not letting you pay for a 500 dollar dress."

"I'd only be paying half," Thalia reminded her. Annabeth frowned, "C'mon Annie just try it on, you've got four other subpar looking dresses in there. For all you know you'll hate it."

"Don't call me Annie," she quipped as Thalia pushed her towards the changing room, dark blue dress in hand.

"Can I get a room started for you?" a shop girl asked as she approached.

"She already has one," Thalia spoke for her, "it's under Annabeth." The attendant glanced down at Annabeth for confirmation, she nodded unenthusiastically. The worker motioned for them to follow her and led them both to a corridor of eight rooms all leading up to an enormous mirror stretching from floor to ceiling.

"Wow," Annabeth mouthed as she stared at the angle of the arcs and crown molding that fit the room so perfectly. This was an architect's dream. The attendant took the dress out of a distracted Annabeth's arms and hung it up in the first room on the right. She said quick word to Thalia and walked off. Annabeth couldn't take her eyes off the beautiful room. It was like everything had been perfectly chosen, from the hard wood floors to the high ceiling that were perfectly complimented by the transition from room to room.

"Hey weirdo," Thalia roughly waved a hand in front of Annabeth face, snapping her out of her daze, "are you gonna try on the dresses or what?"

* * *

"Percy do you know a Lola?" Merial's brows were knitted together as she asked him. She was already changed back into everyday clothes and had her duffle bag in hand.

"Yeah," Percy replied nonchalantly preparing his own bag, "why?"

"She's here to see you," Merial shifted the bag on her arm.

"Oh," Percy furrowed his brows confused how she'd found the set, "okay. I guess tell her I'll be out in a minute" Percy suggested. Merial crossed her arms across her chest and didn't move. Percy glanced up at her unmoving figure and zipped up his bag.

"What?" he asked as he threw it over one shoulder.

"Be careful with that one," Merial warned.

"That's exactly what Annabeth said to me yesterday," he recounted.

"Sounds like your girlfriend has got the right idea," Merial noted and began to turn away.

"Wait," Percy called after her. He knew Annabeth would have wanted him to clarify with, _she's not my girlfriend_ , but he had more pressing matters. Merial stopped walking allowing Percy to catch up and together they strolled off set."Why?" Merial raised an eyebrow, "why do I need to be careful? What do you know that I don't?" Merial opened her mouth to reply but instead of her voice it was a shrill one that echoed across his ear drums.

"Percy!" he heard Lola shriek and attempt to run towards him. Security held her off. Percy smiled at her and waved.

"You can let her go," he yelled at the guards. They freed her and she bounded across the sand towards him. He turned to Merial for one last second before Lola was in earshot, "Why?' he repeated.

"Be careful," Merial advised with a slight shake of her head and after sneering not too politely at Lola took off down the strand to where Ralph would be undoubtedly waiting for her.

"Hey Percy," Lola used her last few steps to strut over to him, "How are you?" she asked twirling a strand of her bottle blonde hair around her pointed finger.

"I'm good," Percy ran his fingers through his hair, trying to rid it of the gel his merman _had_ to wear, "How'd you find me?"  
"You're Percy Jackson," Lola ran a finger up his strong forearm, "it's not exactly a secret."

"I know I guess-" Percy started but Lola cut him off with a request.

"I need your opinion on something," She smiled innocently.

"Sure," Percy answered, eager to ditch her, "What is it?"

"I have to show you," she started tugging on his arm, dragging him across the beach."

"Oh," Percy glanced down at his watch.

3:37

 _I guess I have time_ , he thought. He had promised Annabeth he'd pick her up at 5:30 since the party started at 6:00 and they needed time to drive over there, "I have to be back by 4:30 though,"

"That's fine," Lola smiled sweetly, flashing him all her artificially white teeth, "I doubt it will take that long,"

"Alright," Percy let her lead him. As he did he was found himself picturing the scene from a few days earlier. He eyes lingered on the spot where Annabeth had come undone under the stars. He swore he could see her silhouette imprinted in the sand. Percy was about to go check when he heard Lola's voice urging him on, he figured he was just imagining it, and followed her back to hotel.

* * *

"What do you think?" Annabeth stepped out of the dressing room and twirled around in the shiny red mermaid dress.

"I don't know," Thalia ruminated, "I don't know the first thing about fashion."

"Just give me your honest opinion," Annabeth observed herself in the mirror and stood up a little straighter, "it's only me here,"

"I like it," Thalia decided, "but it's too red and it's too shiny," She stood up from the bench where she'd been playing on her phone, "I don't like the shape either, too poofy at the bottom,"

"Wow," Annabeth threw her head back and laughed, "so basically you don't like any part of the dress,"

"Guess so," Thalia shrugged, "but if you really like it than you can disregard everything I just said,"

"Mm," Annabeth acknowledged her statement and turned around to look at her butt.

"What do you think?" Thalia asked, pacing back and forth behind her.

"I'm not sure," Annabeth lulled her head to the side, "I definitely like this one the best but I still don't love it."

"Try on the next one then," Thalia proposed. Annabeth nodded and headed back into the changing room to try on her last dress. She came out a few minutes later, holding the blue velvet backless dress to her body.

"Can you help me with the zipper," she turned her back to Thalia who stood up and easily zipped her up. When she was done she took a step back at gazed at her friend.

"Wow," was all she could say.

"Does it look okay?" Annabeth asked turning around to see herself in the mirror, "Wow," she echoed as she stared at her reflection. The dress clung to her curves perfectly, the dark color slimmed her waist and brought out the gray of her eyes. Annabeth wasn't sure if it was the hours in the sun or the dark color of the dress but her blonde curls looked strangely lighter. The bare back showed off her strong shoulders and slender arms.

"I'm trying to find something wrong with it," Thalia laughed, more out of wonder than humor, "but I can't."

"It's really nice," Annabeth ran her hands across the soft velvet, "it's too nice." she shook her head. She shouldn't have tried it on. She knew she'd fall in love with it, "I'm gonna get the red dress,"

"Seriously?" Thalia asked incredulously, "Annabeth this dress looks amazing on you,"

"No," Annabeth swallowed, trying hard to sound convincing, "I like the red one more,"

"If this is about the money it's fine," Thalia reached out to place a hand on Annabeth's arm, "I don't mind," but Annabeth jerked away.

"I do," Annabeth snapped, "I mind," Thalia shook her head. She wasn't going to fight Annabeth. She knew she wouldn't win.

"Okay," Thalia agreed and opened the door to her dressing room. She picked up the red dress which Annabeth had nicely hung on the hanger, "I'll go pay for this, you finish getting changed." That said, Thalia tried to slip away but Annabeth knew her friend too well and called after her.

"Wait!" Thalia stopped walking, "You didn't think I forgot did you?" Annabeth raised an eyebrow and gathered her bag. She carded through her wallet and pulled out 75 dollars. "Don't even try to give me any change," Thalia nodded in agreement and sauntered out.

Annabeth took one last minute to admire the beautiful dress that she would never be able to afford. She sighed, realizing just like she'd never be able to afford a dress that nice she would never fit into Percy's life. It was a miracle she even fit into Thalia's.

The minute Thalia was out of sight she picked up the pace. She sprinted towards the cash register.

"Will that be all for you today?" The cashier tried to pry the red dress out of Thalia's hands but her grip was solid.

"I don't want this dress," Thalia clarified, still not letting go of it, "I want the dark blue velvet backless dress that my friend tried on. I need it in a size 4 and I need it fast." The shop girl's clasp on the dress loosened in confusion at the urgency in Thalia's voice. "It's a surprise," Thalia used her temporary distraction to snatch the dress out of her hands, "For her birthday." The attendant still looked confused, "Well get a move on," Thalia practically screamed.

"Okay," the girl agreed finally and ran through the store frantically searching for the dress. She returned in less than a minute panting. She quickly rang it up, "480 dollars is your total," she announced unevenly. Thalia didn't reply, just handed the girl her card while tucking Annabeth's money into her wallet.

"Could you put it in a box?" Thalia asked as the girl was about to fold up the dress and place it in the silver bag.

"Absolutely," the girl nodded and felt under the counter finally pulling out a thin black box. Thalia tapped her foot impatiently as the girl wrapped the dress in delicate tissue paper and placed it in the box. She glanced nervously at the entrance to the changing rooms and her breath caught when Annabeth walked out. Her blood ran cold. She was sure she'd been caught. Thalia wasn't afraid of much but an angry Annabeth was about as scary as it got for her. She turned back towards the cashier and was overcome with a wave of relief when she handed her the silver bag.

"Ready?" Annabeth asked, wandering towards her.

"Yep," Thalia smiled and handed her the bag. Annabeth took the handle, thanked the cashier and continued towards the glass front doors. Thalia shared a knowing smile with the cashier and quickly followed her.

* * *

 **Hey** Percy texted then put his phone down onto the couch next to him.

"Are you ready for dress number one?" Lola voice seeped out from behind the sliding doors in her room.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Percy replied, glancing down at his phone, hoping Annabeth had replied.

"So?" Lola slid the doors open and stepped into his field of view. She did a twirl and tried fluffing her flat bleach blonde hair up. Percy raised an eyebrow as he peered at her obvious attempts at flirting. It had become very clear to him over the last hour exactly what Annabeth and Merial had meant when they'd said to be careful. Lola was blatantly flirting with him and seemed perfectly content with herself even though he wasn't reciprocating.

She stood before him in a very tight, very gold dress with a long sash that was draped over her right shoulder.

"It's nice," Percy stated. He felt his phone vibrate next to him and reached for it excitedly, looking for a way to escape the nightmare before him.

"Really" Lola laughed, "Nice? That's all you have to say?"

"It's really nice?" Percy shrugged.

"It's obviously not good enough for you then," she huffed and stormed back into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her, "Let me show you my next one," her voice was muffled by the door but even if it hadn't been Percy wouldn't have been listening, he was too busy reading Annabeth's most recent text message.

 **Hey**

 **How's dress shopping?** He asked.

 **Good, Thalia's been a little pushy but I found a nice dress.** Annabeth texted back almost immediately.

 **Thalia?** Percy replied.

 **You'll meet her at some point,** Annabeth explained **I live with her.** **How are things going on your end? You didn't have to suit shopping did you?**

Percy chuckled, **No, the only suit I've worn today was my swim suit.**

An ellipsis appeared showing that she was typing but before he could read what she'd said Lola had come back out with a new dress. Percy quickly closed his phone, not wanting to seem rude.

"How do I look?" Lola held her hair up in a makeshift bun, the smug smile across the face told Percy she expected to be showered in compliments. He looked at her black high low dress and counted to ten, pretending to be awed by her appearance.

"You look great," Percy declared, "that's definitely the dress." he put on his best fake smile which, mind you, was as convincing as they come and tried to end the episode of Say Yes to the Dress.

"You think so," Lola turned around and subtly bent over to pick up her phone, giving Percy a great view of her ass.

"Um…yeah," Percy replied distracted. Lola whipped her head around and was appalled to see he wasn't even paying attention to her. Instead, he was smiling down at his phone.

 **I didn't know merman wore swimsuits** Annabeth had replied.

 **They normally don't, but this one made a deal with a sea witch. Also it's PG-13** Percy added.

 **Wow, I really need to see this movie. They'll have copies in San Francisco right?**

 **No need, I'll take you to the premier**

Percy looked back up from his phone but Lola was no longer standing in front of him, "I thought you said that was the last dress," Percy called through the doors. He checked the time impatiently.

4:30

He really needed to get going. "Just a second," Lola cooed, "I found something in the back of my closet I want you to see,"

"Okay," Percy replied and went back to his conversation with Annabeth. The three ellipses showed up once again, indicating she was typing. Then a second later they disappeared. Percy almost immediately began to to scrutinize his own words. He hadn't said anything wrong had he? His eyes widened as he realized his mistake. Unsure how to fix his blunder he figured it was best to take her mind off of his proposition. He searched through his camera roll until he found a picture that would surely cheer her up. It was a picture Merial had sent him of him looking like a fool in his sparkly mermaid tale. He sent it.

 **Wow** , was Annabeth's only reply. He waited for the picture to settle, **This is truly impressive. I can't wait to tell people this is what I had sex with**.

 _ **This**_ **? Harsh word Annie. You didn't seem to mind yesterday, or the time before .** A smile quirked his at his lips and he heard the sliding doors open. He saw a pair of heels and bare tan legs approaching him but didn't think much of it, **or the time before that.**

 **Don't call me that,** His fingers quickly typed his response.

 **I nee-** he tried to finish his message but he felt someone's fingers lift his chin up, nails slightly scraping his Adam's apple.

"Percy," Lola muttered in a seductive voice, she tipped her head down and leaned into him. He jerked his chin away from her hand as he realized what was going on. Lola was in black lingerie and had a very determined gleam in her icy blue eyes.

"Lola," he stood up abruptly, knocking over a box of decorative stationary in the process. It clattered onto the floor but neither of them payed any attention to it, "let's-no"

"You can't deny you're attracted to me Percy," Lola strut towards him, "just like I'm attracted to you,"

"I'm not attracted to you Lola," Percy held his arms out in front of him, attempting to hold her off.

"I know you are," Lola flipped her hair over her shoulder and wove her fingers into Percy's outstretched hands, "It's impossible not to be,"

"Lola no-"

"Don't worry," Lola ran one hand up and down her waist provocatively, "I don't mind being a rebound,"

"Lola I have a girlfriend," Percy blurted out, "the media doesn't know, it's a private thing"

"Oh," Lola looked stunned. She plopped down onto the couch. Percy cautiously sat down next to her, making sure to keep a safe distance, "that makes sense I guess. No single guy could turn me down,"

"Mhm," Percy lied through his teeth.

"Who is it Percy?" Lola turned her head to the side and addressed him firmly.

"Can't say," Percy explained, "I promised her I wouldn't mention her name,"

"Describe her," Lola pressed.

"I really need to go," Percy said in an apologetic tone and stood up. Lola stood up with him.

"What does she look like?" It was more a command than a question. Percy shook his head and walked around her towards the door. His only reply was the loud sound of the door shutting behind him. He walked down the hall and began waiting for the elevator when he heard her call his name.

"What?" he said, pressing the elevator button a few more times before facing her.

"I'm sorry," Lola apologized, "I guess I get kind of crazy when I don't get what I want," Percy nodded, glancing towards the elevator. They were stuck on floor 4 and 2. "I want to be friends," she held out a hand and after a second of contemplation he shook it hesitantly, "which means I won't tell anyone about your girlfriend. I'm really good with secret," she reassured him after he sent her a doubtful look.

"Sounds good," Percy pursed his lips and peered forcefully at the elevators, as if his mind could make them move faster.

"Please don't make things weird Percy. I'm sorry I don't have a lot of friends and I was hoping you and I would get along. Over the last few days I've noticed we're very similar and even if we don't date I just need to know there's someone who... cares." she sounded like she was about to cry and Percy began to feel bad. Here she was, out in the hall in almost nothing just to apologize to him and he wouldn't give her the time of day.

"It's fine Lola," he confirmed, "you didn't know,"

"So what's she like?" Lola asked an unsure smile coloring her face. Percy raised is eyebrows questioningly, "you're girlfriend," Lola clarified shyly.

"She's nice," the elevator arrived with a loud ding.

"And?" Lola urged, though in a much friendlier tone this time

"Intelligent," Percy replied stepping into the elevator feeling a little better about the prospects of their friendship.

"Bye Percy," Lola waved as the door came between them. The minute it closed a wave of realized rushed over Percy. How was he going to explain this encounter to Annabeth. Sure they weren't dating but he'd still agreed to be exclusive. _She'll be understanding right_? Percy hoped so but just to be sure he decided he wouldn't say anything until after the gala.


	46. Chapter 46

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the wonderful characters thought up by Rick Riordan. Anyway, Enjoy!**

Annabeth had given into her heavy eyelids and sleep deprived mind and had taken a cat nap. She had originally been sitting in front of her computer watching Parks and Rec, waiting for her curlers to settle in. Piper had left them in before she'd left for Jake's Sandbar with strict instruction not to touch them until at least 5:00 or Annabeth would 'feel the wrath of the gods.' Annabeth begrudgingly agreed and now here she was, passed out on the not so soft bed.

She was feeling awfully compliant today. First she'd let Thalia convince her to leave her go to store. Then she'd agreed to let Thalia pay for half her dress. _Then_ , she'd agreed not to return the beautiful dress Thalia had bought her without her permission.

Amidst her dream Annabeth heard a knock on her door. She cracked open one eye and inspected the scene before her, trying to take in her surroundings. She squinted her eyes at the room around her and her eyes wandered to the soft fabric covering her body. _Why am I wearing velvet-Shit!_ Her eyes shot open as she realized who was standing outside her door.

"Percy," she squealed and stumbled out of bed and towards the door. "Coming," she called as she smoothed out her dress and swung open the door. She swallowed hard as she took him in. He was wearing an elegant black tuxedo that made his eyes look unusually bright. He licked his lis when he saw her and she bit hers in attempts to rid her mind of dirty fantasies. "Hey," she breathed and straightened her back a bit as his eyes hungrily drank her in, "How do I look?" she asked.

"Great," he smile a Percy smile that made her warm all over.

"I need to grab my shoes and my bag and then I'll be ready," Annabeth informed him.

"Look," Percy chuckled, "I'm all for experimental hairstyles but I'm not sure if this is what you were going for,"

 _What_? She mouthed and Percy pointed to her head. _Oh_ , Of course, how could she forget, there were two tons of curlers in her hair. "Sorry," she apologized reaching up and tugging one out of her hair. The resulting curl fell loosely around her jaw and after struggling with the second one she realized it was a much more difficult task than Piper had make it out to be, "Come in," Annabeth ushered Percy through the door, "I'll just be a second," she promised and made her way into the bathroom.

"I like your dress," Percy baritone voice traveled easily across the small room.

"Thanks," replied Annabeth as she leaned over the counter and inspected her makeup to make sure it hadn't been damaged in her quest for rest. Percy strolled around the room, surveying Annabeth's living space for anything that might provide further insight into her character.

"Are you and Piper the only one's who live here?" Percy asked, eyeing a pair of lacy underwear that were strewn across the floor.

"Mhm," Annabeth answered, detangling the stiff pink curlers from her hair. "Sorry, Piper is really messy," Her scalp sighed in relief when it was finally completely free of curlers. She let the soft curls that Piper had so beautifully crafted fall onto her shoulders and shivered when they brushed her bare back.

Percy sat down on the edge of her bed and his thoughts could help but drift back to the night he'd held her tightly in the same bed.

"Ready," Annabeth sang and exited the bathroom, slipping on a pair of silver heels as she did.

"Annabeth," Percy's forceful voice caused her to stop in her tracks, "shit." He opened his mouth and then closed it again.

"What?" Annabeth asked confused, reaching back into her hair to see if she'd missed a curler.

"Fuck," he half smiled and roughly carded his fingers through his slicked back hair.

"What?" she repeated, looking down at her dress to make sure she hadn't spilled anything on it. He tugged at the edge of the blue velvet and pulled her closer. She frowned down at the affected area of clothing, there was nothing there; no spill, no tear, not even any lint. She was inspecting the fabric when she felt Percy's slender fingers capture her waist. His grip tightened as he held her securely between his legs, tracing small runes pattern with this thumbs that she could feel through the dress. She raised her eyes to meet his and, though he sat a foot or so below her, was surprised to see how close they were.

"I promised myself I'd control myself tonight," his voice had grown suddenly husky, "but I don't know if I'll be able to with you looking like… that," he groaned as his eyes ran up and down her body. The action made Annabeth heart leap, even if she'd never admit it.

"Oh stop," Annabeth rolled her eyes but couldn't stop herself from blushing at his words.

"Not sure that entirely possible," he chuckled darkly, tipping his head up to meet her lips. She closed her eyes as their lips brush on and other. Something ballooned in her chest as he held her so gently yet firmly. His hands had moved down to solidly squeeze her hips whereas hers were slowly traveling up his smooth chest to his strong shoulders. Annabeth began to feel slightly light headed and knew if they would most likely miss the party if this continued so she, being the more rational of the two, broke off the kiss.

"We should go," she said unevenly.

"Are you sure?" Percy rumbled, his lips moving down to her neck. Annabeth rolled her head back giving him better access and seriously considered skipping the gala all together. _It didn't matter what we do as long as we're together right_? She was about to lose herself in the ethereal pleasure that Percy could bring her when a sensible part of her brain decided to argue, _No Annabeth, Bill is expecting you to be there. If you don't show up he'll be suspicious_.

"Annabeth," Percy murmured into her soft tan skin. _But maybe just- NO! Do not give into your hormones._ Annabeth took a deep breath and gently brought his lips up to hers, savoring their last kiss for a while.

"We should go," she repeated, pulling back slightly as she said it. Percy pouted but nodded. He let go of her hips and she let out an internal whimper. _It's just my hormones_ , she assured herself and in a matter of the seconds she and Percy were up and ready to go.

Annabeth ambled towards the kitchen, stopping at the counter. She dropped her phone and keys into the silver clutch Piper had picked out for her and turned swiftly to ask Percy what time they'd be home. Almost immediately, she lost her balance in her new shoes and toppled forward into Percy's soft but solid arms. Her bag fell out of her hands and landed on the floor with a thud. She peeked out of the eyes she'd been so roughly forcing shut and saw an impish grin plastered on the face of her savior.

"Did you trip?" Percy smirked, "Or were you just looking for another excuse to fall into my arms?"

"Another?" Annabeth scoffed, quickly regaining her balance and composure.

"Well, initially you fell from heaven and now here you are, in my arms" Percy replied smugly, inching his lips close to hers, "I don't mind of course. In fact, I rather like having you close," His arm snaked around her back, one of his fingers began to tug at her long hair. He pressed a searing kiss to her lips and tried to pull her closer but she held back.

"Do you often make girls melt with your lame 90's pick up lines?" Annabeth questioned, eyebrows raised.

"Mm," He shrugged, not really giving an answer. He was more interested in stealing a kiss but she remained impervious to his charm.

"Guess it's a good things I'm not like other girls," Annabeth nipped at his bottom lips playfully before stepping away from his completely. She bent down slowly and picked up her bag from the ground, arching her back as she did. She caught a glance of Percy's cute dazed expression and straightened back up, "ready," she smiled innocently, as if she hadn't just purposely given him a great view of her ass.

Percy resisted a groan and grinned at her, "it would do you best not to tease me," he took a few steps forward and held the front door open for her, "I tease back," Annabeth walked confidently through the doorway but just as she did he caught her by the shoulder, pulling her back slightly. "I thought you'd know that Annie," he whispered just below her ear, briefly biting into her neck and then placing a hand on the small of her back and leading her towards the building's front doors.

"Don't call me Annie," Annabeth barely had time to retort before he was escorting her out of the building.

* * *

"You look good Annabeth," Percy's eyes ran up and down her body, lingering on her lips, "really good," he added as his eyes rose to meet hers.

"You don't look so bad yourself," Annabeth replied. She kept her eyes on him as she spoke, there was no need to inspect his body. She knew he looked good.

"Yeah," he smirked, "but I always looked good," He leaned in a little closer in the back seat of the limo. He loved riling her up.

"Wow," Annabeth chuckled, "cocky much?"

"You love it," Percy said with a small smile that crinkled the corners of his sea green eyes.

"I love the noun," Annabeth retorted playfully, "not the adjective," she smiled, proud of her quick wit. Percy was silent for a moment, facing forward, thinking through what she'd just said. Finally he turned to her with a wide grin coloring his face.

"Annabeth Chase," his eyes lit up with mischievous delight, "Did you just say you love my cock?"

"Oh," Annabeth tried to put on a serious face but his smile was too contagious, "I guess I did," she slowly realized. Maybe it hadn't been the best comeback after all.

"I knew you liked me," Percy threw an arm around her shoulder, pulling her into a side hug. Even through the tuxedo she could still feel his hard body. She fought a blush and shoved his arm off of her.

"Just because I like your dick," she tried to explain,

"Love," Percy cut in, his grin never wavering, "you said you _love_ my dick,"

"Doesn't mean I like you," Annabeth rolled her eyes and finished.

"I think you like me," Percy narrowed his eyes and inched closer to her, "I mean how could you not?"

"Percy," Annabeth snorted but still slid nearer, "contrary to popular belief you're not _that_ good looking."

"Really?" Percy mocked hurt. In one swift movement he gripped her waist roughly and pulled her onto his lap.

"Really," Annabeth replied, tipping her head slightly upwards. Her whole body was begging for Percy but she stayed strong. She loved their banter. It was fun to play with him. And that's what she planned on doing for however long she could.

"I can't convince you otherwise?" Percy husked. His words tickled Annabeth's lips, which she was biting nervously.

"No," she managed to squeak out and was quite proud of how firm her voice sounded. Firm, the opposite of how she felt inside. Percy head dipped down and he began sucking along the column of her neck.

After several kisses that were sure to leave bruises, he pulled back and stared down at her. "Are you sure?" he asked, seriously turned on by her half lidded eyes and partially open lips.

"Pretty," Annabeth swallowed hard. She knew what she was asking for, "sure." She and Percy peered into each other's eyes, daring the other to make the first move. After a few seconds of neither of them moving, Annabeth took it upon herself and lunged at him. She curled her fingers into his expensive jacket and yanked him down, smashing his lips onto hers. He groaned as he caught her fiery kiss.

Instantly, Percy's arms went around Annabeth, wrapping her up in his warmth. Annabeth smiled impishly at her effect on him and looped her arms around his shoulders, playing with the hair the nape of his neck. Percy pushed her back against the long seats of the limo and Annabeth didn't this twice about parting her legs. Percy's cold hand traveled along her thigh sending shivers through her entire body.

"Don't do that" Annabeth half heartedly protested.

"Do what?" Percy grinned, not removing his hand.

"That!" Annabeth brushed his hand away, though not angrily.

"Why not?" Percy brought his lips back to her neck, trailing butterfly kisses just below her jaw.

"Because we can't show up smelling like sex." she sighed at his touch, "There will be paparazzi everywhere. Everyone will be watching our every movement Percy, listening to everything we say-"

"Smelling us?" he pulled back and smiled dubiously.

"I happen to know Piper used to fantasize about what you'd smell like," Annabeth miffed.

"Mm," Percy mused, "sounds like Piper might make a better girlfriend than you,"

"We're not dating," Annabeth reminded him, "So, sadly for you I'm not your girlfriend"

"I don't care what I call you as long as I can do," he pressed a chaste kiss to her lips, "this." The two were nose to nose but Annabeth could still see his lopsided grin. Annabeth bit her lip trying to fight a smile.

"Gods you're annoying," she shooked her head slightly before closing the gap between them. Percy gently stroked her heat through her panties. She let out a small moan and it was like she was under her spell, bucking her hips into his hand. He pushed aside the wet strip of cloth and slipped his index finger inside her. Annabeth felt a familiar pressure at the bottom of her stomach and hungrily devoured Percy's lips. Annabeth was about to reach her end and let out a strangled moan when the car jolted to a halt, throwing Percy off her.

"Ah," She bolted up, wide eyed.

"Ow," Percy rubbed his head were he'd hit the carpeted floor and glanced out the tinted window, "we're here," he said nonchalantly and quickly returned his attention to unsatisfied Annabeth. Her hands were splayed out on the seat, bracing her own body against the black leather. He advanced towards her in the now stationary limo, granted he too tall to stand so he had to crawl. Percy placed his hands on her knees hoping to continue where they'd left off but Annabeth was appalled by the thought.

"Percy!" she slapped his hand away, "we're here." She scolded. Percy sighed, he knew it wasn't a good idea but he couldn't keep his hands off of her, especially when that dress showed off her curves so splendidly. Annabeth took a deep breath and tried to fix her hair which had grown slightly frizzy from the friction with the leather seat. Percy watched her with a half smile half frown. On one hand it delighted him to know he'd left her breathless and flustered. On the other, he hated that she was fixing herself to hide their relationship. "Percy," Annabeth snapped breaking him out of his train of thought, "fix your hair," she pointed, "we need to get rid of the evidence,"

Percy nodded and was about to run his fingers through his hair when he saw they were still covered in Annabeth's wetness. Without thinking he put them in his mouth, sensually sucking the Annabeth off of them.

"Percy what are you doing?" Annabeth hissed, subconsciously tightening her thighs beneath her.

"What?" his fingers fell out of his mouth with an appealing noise, "you told me to rid of the evidence,"

"My gods, Percy," Annabeth fought off a smile and reached for the handle of the car, "Do I look okay?"

"You looking ravished" Percy answered fixing his hair with his now clean hands. Annabeth shot him a pointed look, "fine, you look un-ravished,"

"Thanks," Annabeth deadtoned.

"Of course," Percy smirked, "let me do it," he nodded his head towards her hand about to open the door, "it's a lot to take in,"

"I'm sure I can handle it," Annabeth assured him with a bitter smile.

"I'll can hold your hand if you want," Percy smirked. Annabeth scowled and turned the handle. She opened the car door and was assaulted by 100 yelling reporters and even more flashing cameras. She stepped out of the car and tried to ignore the chaos around her but it was more than distracting. Percy stepped out behind her and the reporters got louder, the flashing became more intense.

Annabeth was overwhelmed. Percy was right, it was a lot to take in. But she would never give him the satisfaction of knowing he was right so she just put on a big smile and walked forward as well as she could. Everyone was watching them as they walked, causing Annabeth to feel slightly self conscious. Percy placed a hand on the small of her back as she walked and instantly she felt better. She took a deep breath as the warmth seeped off his hand and into her body, filling her with confidence.

"Told you," Percy bent down slightly and whispered into her ear.

"You should have given me an epilepsy warning," Annabeth said, her smile widening subconsciously at his voice. Together they walked down the strand and Annabeth was filled with dozens of mixed emotions.

She tried to keep her mind on three things; not tripping, smiling, and walking in a straight line. But a voice inside her was yelling, _I'm here, with Percy. I'm here, WITH PERCY!_ She needed to remain composed but Percy made her feel so comfortable, so safe, so confident, all she wanted to do was let go; be free. She wanted to scream. She wanted to dance. She couldn't believe where she was, how she felt, how Percy was making her feel.

Percy was preoccupied dodging questions from the press. 'Who is she?' 'Are you dating?' He ignored it all and kept his hand on Annabeth's lower back, leading her towards the entrance. He glanced down at her and his heart soared when he saw her smile. He had never been more proud in his life. In front of him was the most beautiful girl in the world, and she was with him. He could barely believe it. Percy could have died right then and he would have been perfectly happy. He stared down at her and he knew everyone around them had their eyes glued on them. After all, who could look at Annabeth and look away?

Annabeth tried to keep walking forward but Percy stopped her. "Pictures" he whispered into her ear. She nodded, suppressing a shudder and faced the flashing lights. The reporters threw questions at them which Percy eloquently answered.

"Are you dating?"

"No," Percy flashed the press his most charming smile, "just old friends,"

"Are the rumors about you and Claire true?"

"Yes," Percy laughed, showing off his pearly white teeth, "all of them,"

"Who is she?" A short male reporter pointed at Annabeth. Percy turned his head and beamed down and her and, though there were camera flashes and paparazzi all around the, she felt like it was only the two of them. She turned her head slightly to address the press but kept her eyes on Percy's.

"Annabeth," she mouthed, before realizing she would have to be louder and repeated her answer, "Annabeth Chase"


	47. Chapter 47

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the wonderful characters thought up by Rick Riordan.**

Annabeth gasped lightly as they entered the enormous ballroom of the Taglyan Complex **(look it up if you want to, there are really cool pictures online)**. Percy felt her sigh in awe at the beautiful architecture and tightened his grip around her waist. His heart warmed at the twinkle of childlike curiously dancing in her eyes as she took in the room around her.

"It's beautiful," Annabeth mused with a soft smile, her eyes glued to the colorful glass ceiling.

"It most definitely is," Percy agreed, his stare fixed on her form.

"Gods," Annabeth shifted her eyes slightly so he would see her pitiful gaze, "that was almost as bad as your pick up line," Percy shrugged and Annabeth tipping her head up slightly to peer intently at the chandeliers, "how can you come up with lines when you're surrounded by such architectural magnificence?" Percy responded with a line that he hoped was slightly less cliche.

"Because when you're in the room," he brought his lips to her ear and whispered sensually, "you're all I see," Annabeth opened her mouth to retort but was caught in a fit of soft giggles when he suddenly nuzzled her neck.

"Percy!" She hissed unevenly, "someone's gonna see," At her harsh tone he remembered where they were and quickly withdrew. The minute he did he realized he missed her smell; like cinnamon and something he couldn't quite place his finger on.

"Sorry," he nodded apologetically, "let's introduce you to some of my friends," He cautiously held a hand out to Annabeth, hoping she would take it, instead she glanced at it and then back and him and, with a good natured grin, strode past him, towards the tables on the right side of the room. Percy shook his head chuckling as he watched Annabeth glide through the maze of tables, carefully inspecting the intricate tiling and white molding.

She peeked back at him through a curtain of blonde curls. He noticed and, still chuckling, followed her lead.

* * *

"Percy!" the dark haired boy slapped a palm on Percy's back.

"Nico," Percy greeted with a wide grin. Annabeth noticed how his friend's dark eyes darted to her then back to Percy's, obviously eager to be introduced.

"Who's this?" he smirked, he nodded towards her.

"This is Annabeth," Percy beamed, wrapping an arm around her in an awkward attempt to show her off. Annabeth smiled brightly and held out a hand as Percy's settled comfortably on the curve of her waist. "This is Nico," Percy motioned towards the boy. Nico reached out and took Annabeth's hand, shaking it. Annabeth eyes momentarily lingered on his wrist as she noticed how pale he was, especially assuming he lived in California.

"I'm Annabeth Chase," she introduced herself, "I'm an old friend of Percy's," Nico raised his eyebrows, his smirk melting into an amused smile, "from San Francisco." He opened his mouth to call their bluff but Percy jerked his head to the side and he dropped it. "Are you okay?" Annabeth turned to Percy, whose movement had been much less subtle than he'd hoped.

"Yep," he assured her. She narrowed her piercing gray eyes at him and he was relieved when Will appeared behind Nico. "Will!" he called out. The shaggy haired blonde strolled over. His blue eyes scanned the scene before him and he stretched out an arm for Annabeth to shake.

"I'm Will Solace," he said with an easy smile as Annabeth took his hand, "this gorgeous guy's boyfriend." He bumped Nico, who rolled his eyes but was unable to hide the faint blush that shone bright on his skin. Annabeth couldn't help but notice how different the couple was; where Nico was night, Will was day.

"Annabeth," she answered.

Will's eyes flicked from Percy to Annabeth. When neither of them seemed to pick up his subtle cue so he asked the question he'd been waiting for someone to answer, "so how do you two know each other?" He inquired, taking a slow sip of his scotch afterwards.

"She's an old friend from San Francisco," Nico interjected with a smug look before Annabeth or Percy could answer for themselves. Will glanced at Percy who nodded in confirmation.

"It's nice to meet you Annabeth," Will said charastmasitcally. He threw an arm around his boyfriend, who seemed comforted by his touch.

"You too," she smiled sweetly. 'How do you know Percy?' she was about to ask when Nico asserted himself in the conversation once again.

"Moving on from Claire quickly I see," Nico sneered.

"Nico!" Will whipped his head to face his boyfriend and pressed his heel harshly into Nico's toes. "Are you two dating?" Will asked politely and Nico grimaced at the question, as if he were disgusted.

"No," Annabeth snapped, though she wasn't sure why their potential relationship was so revolting.

"We're just friends," Percy reassured when he saw Will's doubtful gaze land on Annabeth's waist. Percy reluctantly removed his hand, "right Annie?"

"Right," she resisted the urge to correct Percy and instead, inspired by Will, drove her heel into Percy's foot. She heard Percy let out a muffled groan beside her and was smiled in triumph.

"So when did you meet Percy?" Nico interrogated.

"Not sure," Annabeth laughed nervously and eyed Percy for help.

"It doesn't matter," Percy cinched. Nico threw him a dubious look and Percy responded with a stern one.

"Where did you say you met?" he continued despite pleading eyes from his boyfriend.

"San Francisco," Annabeth answered, her gray eyes began to harden as she perceived a threat.

"Could you be more specific?" He leered, taking a step closer to her. Annabeth stood up a little straighter and her face became a calm emotionless mask that Percy knew well.

"The Exploratorium," Annabeth was never one to back down from a challenge, "down on pier 15. It's a great little museum. Percy was visiting," And she didn't like to lose either.

"What were you doing there?" Nico questioned. The slight disappointment in his eyes when Annabeth answered his previous question so eloquently only spurred her on.

"I was at a science camp there," Annabeth replied smoothly.

"Science camp for what?" Nico raised an eyebrow. Will widened his eyes at Percy for him to intervene but Percy was much too stunned too by the rapid fire unfolding in front of him to notice.

"Architecture,"

"How old were you?"

Will nudged Percy, snapping him out of his daze, _do something_ he mouthed.

"15," Nico opened his mouth to ask another question but was cut off.

"Okay," Percy interrupted loudly. Annabeth took a step back and struggled to drop the conversation that had rapidly become a competition, "Nico could you stop the third degree?" he glared, "this isn't 20 questions." Nico closed his mouth and sighed lazily, "thanks," Percy replied. The uncomfortable silence that followed his statement only lasted a few seconds before Nico continued, determined to get the last word.

"Describe your first encounter" Everyone glared this time. Nico had seen Will and Percy angry enough times to know neither of them would ever actually hurt him. But as he stared into Annabeth's steely eyes he saw a threatening streak of silver run through them and, for a second, he was genuinely worried for his life. "What?" Nico drawled, holding up his hands in mock innocence, trying to keep up his attitude even though he could feel her eyes burning into him, "That wasn't a question, if anything it was a request,"

"Percy was lost and-" Annabeth began in a curt voice.

"Annabeth," Will cut in, "let's go get a drink,"

"But you're holding one," Annabeth pointed at his still mostly full glass of Scotch.

"It's not for me," he took a frowning Annabeth by her small hand and tugged her away from Percy, "It's for you." He threw a dirty look over his shoulder and, after he was certain Nico caught it, he turned back to her, "it might be a long night,"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Percy snapped the minute Annabeth was out of earshot.

"What the hell is wrong with me?" Nico laughed humorlessly, "What the hell is wrong with you Percy? You said you were done with this shit"

"It's not the same Nico," Percy ran his fingers through his hair, trying to find a way to explain, "I really like her,"

"You said you were focusing on work," Nico shook his head, his voice came out tired, "you were gonna stop with the floozies and the drinking. Your agreement with Claire was your way out of that lifestyle"

"Claire and I didn't work out for other reasons," Percy hissed, "And I did stop, Annabeth isn't a floozy. I actually care about her"

"Percy," Nico eyes darkened and he knitted his brows together, "are you forgetting your mom? She's the reason you're doing this"

"I know," Percy's voice softened at the mention of his mother, "I would never forget her. My plan is still the same it's just… I don't know, Annabeth is different."

Nico stared him down unbelieving, "You could have-"

"I tried, I really did but… I can't seem to get her out of my head," Percy shook his head slightly.

"She's different, really?" Nico asked harshly, "because what I just witnessed looks eerily familiar. She looks to me like another social climber making a play for Percy Jackson. And of course you're playing right into her hand,"

"Will you just trust me?" Percy pleaded, "Nico, I am telling you that it's not the same with us." Nico fell silent, waiting for him to elaborate but Percy wasn't sure where to start. He shifted his head and could see Annabeth's soft blonde curls flowing down her bare back. "She works at my hotel," he brought his voice to a whisper, leaning in slightly so others wouldn't hear. "She didn't even like me when we first met. She thought I was arrogant," Nico snorted, "and snobby." Annabeth turned around and met his eyes momentarily before he quickly averted his eyes, "She doesn't even want to date me,"

"So you're just friends?" Nico questioned lazily since he already knew the answer wasn't 'yes.'

"Not exactly," Percy pondered.

"You always liked a challenge," Nico snarked. Percy opened his mouth to reply but Nico held up a hand, gesturing him to stop, "And now Will is irritated with me for simply looking out for you," he said as he turned around and walked to the bar where Will and Annabeth were laughing.

Percy watched Nico point Annabeth in his direction and a second later she was wandering towards him, walking so gracefully it looked like she might be floating.

* * *

A few minutes earlier…

"I'm sorry about Nico," Will apologized once they reached the bar, "he's just a little overprotective of Percy, that's all."

"Oh," Annabeth mused, wondering whether or not her aggressive competitive streak made the best impression on Percy's friends. _Wait!_ She caught herself, _Wh_ _at do I care what his friends think? I won't be with Percy long enough for it to matter_. She clenched a fist, trying to rid the feeling to worry out of her. She shouldn't care. She didn't care, _only a little_. A voice reminded her.

"What do you want?" Will asked, referring her to the dark skinned bartender standing in front of her.

"Um," Annabeth tried to regain her thoughts as she was disconnected from her train of thought, "gin n tonic," she decided. The bartender didn't move, he simply stared at her with an expression of awe. Annabeth furrowed her brows, confused by what he was staring at.

"Hello?" Will waved a hand in front his face, "gin n tonic."

"Of course," the bartender jumped up and quickly prepared her drink. He handed it to her and scowled when they're hands touched.

"Thanks," Annabeth replied politely and turned back to Will, unaware that the bartender has resumed staring.

"So how do you really know Percy?" Will questioned.

Annabeth replied with a curious quirk of her eyebrows while taking a sip of her drink, as if to say 'I have no idea what you're talking about.'

"I've known Percy long enough to know he's never been to San Francisco," he explained. Annabeth gnawed at her plump bottom lip as he waited for an answer.

"I met him a week ago," she caved, revealing the truth, "I work at his hotel."

"Hotel Escape?" he mused, "I heard they have great parties,"

"Mhm," she nodded, verifying the information, "I'm not really the party type though,"

"Really?" Will peered down at her, "Percy's girlfriends almost always are,"

"Oh, well there's the issue," Annabeth cut in quickly, "I'm not Percy's girlfriend. We aren't dating. We really are just friends."

"He's glanced over here a little too much for you two to be 'just friends,'" he noted in a low voice, a funny smile colored his expression. Annabeth head whipped around to briefly look at Percy. They made fleeting eye contact before his eyes returned to Nico. They seemed to be in a heated discussion.

Annabeth faced Will again, trying to hide her dim blush. He gave her a knowing smile, "we're not dating," she repeated. Sure, she wasn't telling him the whole story but at least she wasn't lying. Will chuckled and Annabeth was relieved when he changed the subject.

"Do you like working there?" he brought his glass of bourbon to his lips and took a long sip as she answered.

"Yes," she replied with shrug, "they pay well and the hours aren't that bad,"

"You probably get asked this all the time," Will started, "but do you know what you want to study?" she gave him a confused look, "In college I mean"

"Oh, architecture," Annabeth answered without taking a second to think about it, "don't ask why. I'm not sure myself. I just love it. It's the perfect combination of math and art."

"Okay," Will reasoned, "one last question before I let you get back to your prince," Annabeth rolled her eyes at the word 'prince' but refrained from commenting. "What did you think of Percy the first time you met him?" Annabeth couldn't help but smile as she thought of their first encounter.

"I thought he was a dick," she laughed, "a complete and utter asshole," Will nodded, chuckling agreement. He noticed Nico approaching them from behind Annabeth.

"I had the same reaction," he commented distracted. Annabeth turned her head slightly, following Will's gaze to an advancing figure. She side stepped, giving him space to join the conversation but he just stared at her silently, keeping a safe distance.

"Guess I'll get back to Percy," Annabeth said to Will, breaking the awkward stillness, "it's was great meeting you," She turned to Nico who barely acknowledged her, "you too Nico." She waited for a reply and when she didn't get one she strode off towards Percy.

Percy's tired looking eyes brightened as she neared. "Hey," he greeted softly.

"All okay?" Annabeth ran a hand up his forearm, attempting to comfort him without making it blatantly obvious.

"Yes," Percy eyes roamed her body as she stroked him through his suit, "do you want to dance?" He didn't wait for a verbal answer. She grinned, making his heart race, and that was enough for him. Percy took one of her delicate hands in his and pulled her past groups of people, onto the dance floor.

"Percy," Annabeth voice was hesitant but her arms were already wrapped around his neck and his were circling her waist.

"Annabeth," he purred, gazing down at her with a look that made her want to melt into a puddle, right there on the dance floor.

"You know I can't dance," She worked hard to keep her composure

"I've seen otherwise," Percy wiggled his eyebrows and his grip tightened briefly, scrunching up her dress. Instantly, Annabeth knew he was referring to their rendezvous in the club.

"That wasn't dancing," Annabeth couldn't take her eyes off of him as he swayed almost majestically above her, "more like jumping,"

"Annabeth," his lips curved around her name and she felt an annoying tingle in her lower region, reminding her that they hadn't had sex in almost 24 hours, "look down,"

"What?" Annabeth raised an eyebrow but complied, tipping her head down to peer at her feet.

"You've been dancing this whole time," He stated looking rather proud.

"Only because I'm with you," She subtly stroked the back of his neck with her fingertips.

"I won't argue with that," Percy chuckled darkly, suppressing a wave of chills at her gentle touch. Annabeth parted her lips partially at the implied insult to her dancing abilities. He couldn't wipe the wide grin off his face at her cute expression. He leaned into her, pressing his lips to her ear. Percy felt her sigh and nipped gently before saying, "you know what comes next." Annabeth's eyes widened as she caught his devilish smirk and realized what was about to happen.

Percy swiftly spun her out, wasting no time to pull her back against his body. As she spun Annabeth enjoyed the way her silky dress brushing against her recently shaved legs. Once she was against his chest she stared up into his eyes dreamily, momentarily forgetting they were surrounded by the elite.

"I can't wait for later tonight," she said with a coyly.

"What happens later tonight?" Percy pushed. He obviously already knew, just wanted to hear her say it.

"We're gonna watch a long documentary on the art-deco movement," she teased.

"Sounds absolutely riveting," Percy licked his lips slyly, resurfacing a handful of pleasurable memories within Annabeth, "but I'm sure we could find a more _efficient_ use of your time,"

"You are always so… _efficient_ ," Annabeth pestered.

"You never seemed to mind before," he gruffed, barely able to contain himself. He wanted to rip her clothes off right here, on this dance floor, in front of dozens of people. _Ugh_ , he groaned mentally. How was it that this girl had such an effect on him?

"I suppose," Annabeth placed a finger on her bottom lip and tugged at it, pretending to be deep in thought, "there are… certain activities I might enjoy," then hastily added, "other documentaries of course,"

"And what might these documentaries be called?" His attempts to make her talk dirty were almost laughable but he was so adorably hopeful that Annabeth couldn't find it within herself to crush his dreams.

"There is amazing one," her hands slip down from his neck to his collar, adjusting what didn't need adjusting, "it's called," she pressed her body flush to his, playing it off as part of some intricate dance, and cooed, "Percy fucks Annabeth into the next century,"

"You know," he husked, "A wise individual once told me it was creepy to refer to yourself by the third person,"

"I'm sure," Annabeth laughed, throwing her head back in the process. Her blonde curls barely brushing Percy's slender fingers. She stopped laughing and met Percy's goofy lopsided grin with one of her own, "what?" she chuckled.

"I'm not sure I can wait until later," he growled.

"Wait what?" Annabeth pulled back and clarified with a blank expression.

"C'mon," Percy grasped her wrist and roughly pulled her off the dance floor. He sat them down at the nearest table and muttered, "Meet me through that hallways," he nodded his head to the right, "in 5 minutes."

"Okay," Annabeth breathed back, intoxicated by his warmth as he leaned into her. Percy grinned at her and took off, scurrying down the hall he'd indicted earlier.

* * *

10 minutes earlier...

"I just don't see why you can't be at least cordial with her," Will shrugged, "she seems nice." He took a sip of his drink, keeping his eyes on the man standing in front of him.

"Of course she does," Nico stressed, "but they all did. It's the same thing as always, Will."

"Maybe not," Will said quietly as he knew the statement was bound to cause a rash reaction on Nico's part.

"What?" Nico clarified slowly.

"Maybe this time it really is different," Will continued. He glanced at Percy and Annabeth who were dancing, "look," he spun his boyfriend around so the couple was in his line of sight, "he's acting different."

"I see the same old Percy," Nico shook his head, "being seduced by sweet lines and a pretty face,"

"Nico," Will stated exasperated, "look at the way he's holding her," he pointed subtlety to her waist. "The old Percy would have had his hands on her ass in .3 seconds,"

"I guess," Nico agreed hesitantly.

"And look," he shifted his boyfriend's gaze higher, "the way he's looking at her,"

"What about it?" Nico crossed his arms, denying the obvious.

"He's staring down at her like…" Will tried to put it into words, "the way girls dream they will. It's the kind of look they describe in cheesy romance novels. His eyes are practically twinkling."

"But that doesn't mean she likes him back," Nico argued. Will wrapped a warm arm around his boyfriend's shoulder and laughed heartedly because Nico's claim was ridiculous. She was staring up at him with bright eyes and a warm smile that looked effortless.

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see," Will ended the dispute. For a few minutes the couple was silent as they watched Percy and Annabeth dance and laugh. Soon enough, Percy dragged Annabeth off the dance floor and subsequently escaped down one of the unused hallways. A few minutes later Annabeth followed with a straight face but was unable to remove the bounce in her step.

Will glanced over at the beautiful boy standing next to him and saw a faint smile dancing on his lips. Will consequently smiled and pressed a kiss to Nico's temple.

"Everything's gonna be okay," he whispered into his boyfriend's ear.


	48. Chapter 48

**Merry Christmas!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson, obviously.**

Percy was the first to reenter the event hall. He stumbled in as if he'd been kicked, still tucking in his shirt, a wide grin stretching from cheek to cheek. He slicked his hair back and walked towards the bar. He had just received his drink when a friend tapped him on the shoulder. Percy spun around and lazily greeted Will.

"Hey," he took a sip of his Old Fashioned.

"You really don't know how to do 'subtle' do you?" Will chuckled, shaking his head slightly.

"What do you mean?" Percy asked confused.

"You and Annabeth obviously just fucked," Will replied carefully, in a quieter voice so that no one would hear.

"No," Percy quickly objected. Will countered his reply with a pointed look which caused Percy's expression to morph into a smirk, "maybe,"

"Sorry about Nico," Will apologized, "but you know how he is,"

"Overprotective, childish, constantly passive aggressive?" Percy suggested.

"Yes," Will waved off the negative characteristics, "but it's because he cares,"

"There are other ways to care," Percy scoffed, "better ways"

"Percy," Will scowled, "as wrong as I think the way he acted was, he had a point. You need to be more careful. You and her," he nudged his head towards Annabeth who had just reentered the room, "are asking for trouble."

"I tried to be careful," Percy proclaimed, his eyes straying towards Annabeth. He watched as she smoothed her hair even though she'd come out looking as prim and proper as ever. She'd been very insistent they leave 'no evidence' of their activities, "but there's just something about her that…"

"You're in love," Will declared, laughing a bit.

"No," Percy laughed it off. It was ridiculous… right? He couldn't be in love. They'd been together for barely over a week, he couldn't be in love. "If I were in love," he smirked, "then even I'd be worried about me,"

"Percy," Will shook his head again. He gave Percy a pitiful smile that took his mind momentarily off of Annabeth.

"What!?" Percy asked, he didn't like being pitied.

"You don't even realize it," his pitiful aspect hadn't changed, "And neither does she."

"Don't realize what?" Percy inquired exasperated. He was bored of the pronoun game and wanted to know what Will was talking about.

"You and Annabeth are playing with fire and you're both going to get hurt." It was Percy's turn to shake his head. Will's convoluted way of explaining things was getting on his nerves and Annabeth was nearing. She smiled showing all her teeth and strode towards him, her hips swaying as she did.

"Will," Percy turned back towards him, "Annabeth and I are being careful, I promise." He sighed, he wasn't going to let his friends ruin his night. He was finally out in public with Annabeth and was going to enjoy her while he still had her.

"Hey," Annabeth approached the pair, offering them a shy smile.

"Annabeth," Will nodded politely then turned to Percy, "just remember what I told you," he and walked off. "Fire Percy, fire," he called over his shoulder as he did.

"What was that about?" Annabeth asked him with a weird look.

"Nothing important," Percy reassured her, "C'mon there are some more people I want you to meet,"

"Okay," Annabeth smiled brightly and let him lead the way.

* * *

Percy had introduced Annabeth to well over a dozen people and was truly impressed with the grace and elegance by which she handled herself. She never once stuttered and always found a way to politely answer the intrusive questions she was asked.

"So," Percy said, finally having pulled her away from an unpleasant conversation with an old lady, "are you always that nice?" Annabeth shrugged, not really giving him an answer, "Because from what I remember you were quite rude to me the first time we met," That made Annabeth laugh. A long beautiful laugh that rang through Percy's ears and made his heart soar.

"Yes," Annabeth smiled, taking his chin in between her fingers and tipping it down towards her, "I'm only rude to devilishly handsome young men," Percy quirked his eyebrows.

 _Me_? He mouthed. Annabeth rolled her eyes but her smile only grew. She pushed his shoulder playfully, as she did she noticed something behind him.

"Um," she pointed subtly, not wanting to appear rude, "I think that girl is waving to us." Percy looked over her shoulder in the general direction she had pointed.

"Oh that's just Rachel," Percy waved back, "She's an old friend. I'm gonna go say hi, you must be exhausted so you're free to take a break if you want,"

"Oh thank gods," Annabeth let out an audibly sigh of relief, "it's not that I don't want to meet her!" Annabeth reassured him after a weird look, "but my feet hurt like hell"

"Okay," Percy laughed, "do you want me to get you another drink while I'm over there?" he offered.

"No, thanks," Annabeth replied, scrunching up her nose adorably, "I've already had three and I have to keep my wits about me," Percy lips curled into a tight smile as he fought the urge not to kiss her adorable face. He just stared down at her, wondering how he was so lucky and how Luke had ever been able to cheat on someone so perfect. He remained, pondering Annabeth's perfection, until she pushed him away, "go, go," she hissed, "go talk to your pretty female friend,"

He nodded, unable to wipe the goofy smile off his face and strolled towards his redheaded friend. Annabeth walked over to the nearest table and settled into one of the chairs, resting her feet as she watched their interaction.

* * *

"Rachel!" Percy pulled her into a hug, careful not to spill his drink on her silky green dress, "I thought you weren't coming,"

"I wasn't" Rachel wheezed through his tight hug. He released her and she was able to speak more clearly, "I was supposed to be in Tokyo for my new movie but it got postponed so I thought why not?" She shrugged, "Anyway, enough about me, how are you?"

"I'm great," Percy took a sip of his Old Fashioned.

"Really?" Rachel questioned with a pointed look, "I heard about your break up."

"Oh,"

"Not that I believe any of that 'gold-digger' rubbish the tabloids are selling but still… that had to be hard," she added, cocking her head slightly.

"I'm honestly great," Percy proclaimed. As he spoke his eyes were drawn towards Annabeth, who had taken a seat across the room. Rachel kept talking but his attention was completely on Annabeth. He watched as Lola sat down next to her and the two engaged in a friendly conversation. He hoped Annabeth had liked his friends, he hoped they hadn't seemed stupid or silly or boring or… friends. Rachel.

"-my calls but I don't want things to be awkward," Percy returned his eyes to her, trying to deduce what she'd been talking about from the fragment he'd heard. She raised her eyebrows at him like she was waiting for him to say something.

"Mhm," Percy nodded not wanting to be rude and admit he hadn't listened to anything she'd said.

"Oh," Rachel blushed through her freckles, "I mean I guess I'm happy but I'm going to Tokyo so... I don't want it to be like last time,"

"Mhm," Percy nodded again. He still had no idea what he had agreed to but then he made eye contact with Annabeth from across the room and it didn't matter anymore, nothing mattered. She smiled confidently shifted her dress so it exposed a sliver of her thigh. Percy swallowed with some difficulty.

"-would you be willing to sacrifice that?" He turned back towards her. She was looking down at her hands, completely oblivious to his lack of attention.

"Sure," Percy shrugged off her request, "there's someone I want you to meet," he smiled brightly. Of all his friends, Rachel was the one he was most excited to tell about Annabeth. They'd grown up together, having always been in LA filming during the summer instead of partying or hanging out with friends like normal kids. It was an easy bonding point and from there their friendship blossomed.

Through their childhood she'd always teased him about the endless slew of shallow girls who threw themselves at him. He was a teenage boy and found himself unable to resist the majority. And after every morning-after she would reprimand him and explain that he needed to find a 'nice honest girlfriend.' And now that he had one, well half of one, he couldn't wait to tell her.

"Her name is Annabeth," Percy proceeded to explain to Rachel how they'd met, their relationship, and the time they'd spent together. If Nico wouldn't listen Rachel seemed like a good alternative. She would never tell anyone, she hated gossip and the press anyway. "I really really like her, Rachel," Percy ambushed her with the load of information, "I don't think I've ever liked a girl more. I mean I'm 17 though, that must be it right? It's just because I've never met anyone else right?" His eyes burned into her, hoping she'd somehow give him a simple answer to his complex question.

"You like her?" Rachel looked confused.

"Yeah," Percy chuckled, "that's all I talked about for the last 5 minutes. Were you not listening?" Her expression remained bewildered, "that's okay in all honesty I wasn't totally paying attention to what you said earlier."

"Oh," Rachel's expression practically screamed 'hurt.' You'd think being an actress she'd be better at hiding her emotions, "you weren't listening." she repeated the statement to herself with a grim curl of her lips, as if trying to rationalize the information, "so you weren't _really_ replying either,"

"Are you okay?" Percy asked, he reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. He tried to comfort her even though he had no idea what or if he'd done something wrong, "You can tell me again, I promise I'll listen this time."

"No," Rachel shook her head sadly, her red untamed curls bouncing into her eyes. Percy was about to reach forward to push a ringlet out of her face when he felt someone grab his arm. He looked over and saw Annabeth gripping possessively at his elbow, though he wasn't sure why.

Rachel raised her head up at the sudden presence, "Oh, you must be Annabeth," she held out a hand which Annabeth shook. Her dazzling grin contrasting with Rachel's still sad smile.

"That's me," Annabeth grip on Percy loosened at the reassurance that they'd talked about her, "and you are?" she asked and Percy detected a sour note in her sweet voice.

"Rachel," Rachel's lips pursed into a tight line, "Percy and I are old friends,"

"As are we," Annabeth motioned to her and Percy but her body positioning spoke otherwise.

"It's okay Annabeth," Percy explained, "I told her the truth." Annabeth frowned, "Don't worry she won't tell anyone," She nodded though the frown did not completely subside.

"What were you saying?" Percy asked an uncomfortable looking Rachel. Annabeth hated to admit it but the sight made her a little glad.

"I wasn't saying anything," she smiled, poorly masking her discomfort, "we should get coffee. I leave Tuesday but maybe after?" she offered, "we could catch up,"

"Absolutely," Percy grinned.

"Okay," Rachel nodded, her eyes flicked towards Annabeth, "I see someone waving so I should probably go say hi," Percy opened his mouth to protest but before he could she was already out of sight.

"That was weird," he furrowed his brows and watched her push through a crowd towards the hallway they'd been in earlier.

"I guess," replied Annabeth softly. She was feeling entirely guilty. She and Percy weren't even dating and she was already acting like jealous girlfriend. It was apparent Percy wasn't the only one who couldn't control himself. She needed to cool it.

"I know you're tired but there's one more person I want you to meet," Percy looked at the heads around the room, an easy feat considering his height, and recognized a bush of brown hair. He steered Annabeth towards yet another beautiful female.

"Hi Percy," the young brunnette eyed Annabeth playfully, "this must be Annabeth,"

"Yes, hi," Annabeth held out a hand and the woman shook it. Annabeth let her hand drop to her side. She didn't want to admit it but she was utterly and completely drained. She'd met more than 30 people tonight and the alcohol was finally taking it's toll of her.

"I'm Merial," she smiled politely.

"She's also in _Fin-tastic_ ," Percy lips curled in an attempt not to laugh at the silly name. Merial nodded ruefully. "Where's Ralph?" Percy inquired and Annabeth relaxed a bit. Maybe Ralph was her boyfriend. Maybe she wasn't competing with 3 crazy good looking girls for Percy's affection.

"Oh he's somewhere," Merial waved around the hand that wasn't holding her drink, "for someone who doesn't like parties you'd think he'd stay closer to me," She and Percy laughed and Annabeth forced one out too. How was Percy still so energetic? Maybe Lola was right, maybe Annabeth just wasn't cut out for this type of lifestyle. Maybe you really did need to be born into it to enjoy it.

"Annabeth," Percy nudged her.

"Yeah," Annabeth eyes snapped open and she stared up at him, completely unaware of the fact that she'd been zoning out for the last minute.

"Merial asked how we know each other," his smile quickly turned mischievous, "and since you apparently _love_ telling that story," he held out an arm as if to usher her forward.

"Yeah," Annabeth chuckled at his arm movement, "We met while he was visiting San Francisco a few years ago. He was thoroughly lost in the emporium and was on the brink of bawling-"

"No, I was not going to cry," Percy cut in, "I am rugged and manly, I never cry,"

"Sure," Annabeth rolled her eyes making Merial chuckle, "whatever you say Percy. Anyway, I very kindly helped him find his family and the rest, as they say, is history,"

Merial nodded as she in took the information, "but you two aren't dating," her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"No," Annabeth scrunched up her nose and pretended to be disgusted by the mere idea, "that would be like dating my brother," Merial laughed loudly. Percy frowned a bit but she obviously bought the story so he dropped it.

The rest of the night was a blur to Annabeth. Even though Percy said Merial was the last, he still introduced her to at least ten people afterward. Annabeth could barely keep track of their names, instead she opted to remember them by their unique features. Big eyes, Baldy, Ms. Has-8-dogs, etc.

Percy, with one hand either on the small of her back or her waist, carried her through the long line of faces. It was the same conversation each time. Annabeth heart shrunk into her as she answered the same four questions over and over again.

The night finally came to a close and she and Percy piled back into the limo. He knew she was probably tired and didn't try anything on their way home. It was the gentlemanly thing to do, especially after she'd acted so possessive then so abruptly distant, but it only made things worse.

She sat in the back of the limo and scolded herself. She was acting so irrational. So irrational and jealous. _But it isn't all my fault_ , she protested, _if Lola hadn't shown up then I wouldn't have acted so weird._ She thought back to her and Lola's conversation.

* * *

It was odd. They'd never spoken before and she just sat down next to her and started talking as if it were no big deal.

"So you and Percy, huh?" Lola drawled, inching her chair closer to Annabeth's.

"No," Annabeth took a deep breath, preparing for the horror she'd heard was Lola, "we're old friends."

"Are you sure?" Lola pushed, "because it looks like you like him," Annabeth didn't answer, "and," Lola continued, "I saw you guys both leave the room very mysteriously,"

"We're you watching us?" Annabeth asked, turning to face her directly for the first time, "because I think that means you like Percy, not me."

"I do like Percy," Lola shrugged like it was nothing, "and I don't like competition so I'm here to make sure you're not this _girlfriend_ he told me about,"

"Girlfriend?" Annabeth asked like she was clueless. She secretly hoped she'd answer as she was a bit curious what Percy had said about her.

"All he told me was that she was intelligent," Lola informed, obviously not convinced it wasn't Annabeth.

"Smart guys tend to like smart girls," Annabeth reasoned.

"You're smart," she picked at one of her fingernail and Annabeth became quickly bored with the interrogative conversation. She turned back towards Percy.

"That doesn't mean anything," she smiled at him as he glanced over. She flashed him a bit of her leg and was pleased with his reaction.

"You're right," Lola decided abruptly, slamming her hands down on the table to catch Annabeth's drifting attention. It worked. Annabeth whipped her head around and stared at her with wide eyes, "Percy would never date the _help_ ," she went on.

"Probably not," Annabeth agreed, trying to ignore the tone Lola's voice had taken at the word 'help.'

"You're a nobody, Annabeth," Lola informed her like it was a favor. She raised her eyebrows, expecting an answer.

"Okay," Annabeth replied in polite tone. She didn't want Lola to say anything to her dad, he was after all her boss.

"Percy would never date someone like you," she pronounced every word perfectly, "and if you are dating- because I'm not entirely convinced you aren't- then he's bound to get bored of you at some point."

"Guess you don't have anything to worry about then," Annabeth answered. She peered down at her empty glass and wished she hadn't turned down Percy's offer for a drink. She could really use it right now.

"I don't think I do," Lola could tell Annabeth wanted the conversation to be over but she didn't care, "because soon enough the both of you will realize that you don't belong in this world. You'll never know a salad fork from a fish fork."

"Poor me," Annabeth muttered, tapping her fingers against the empty crystal in front of her.

"It's not your fault," Lola reassured her, "you were just inferior from birth." Annabeth resisted the urge to defend herself and instead stayed silent, not wanting to give Lola any reason to be more suspicious. It was obvious she was trying to rile her up. "You will always feel out of place and you will never understand this lifestyle. You and Percy don't work and never will."

"Lola," Annabeth cut in, tired of listening, "I truly believe you are wasting your time talking to me. Why don't you talk to Percy directly? Or better yet, go talk to that girl," she pointed to the girl Percy was speaking with, Rachel he'd said her name was. "Maybe that's his girlfriend."

"I know _that_ 's not his girlfriend," Lola laughed at Annabeth's apparent obliviousness, "do you even _know_ who that is?"

"Rachel?" Annabeth shrugged, looking over at Percy and her. Percy was talking her ear off, his lips hadn't stopped moving since the last time she'd seen him.

"Rachel Dare," Lola informed her as if she hadn't just given her the same answer, "I'm surprised you don't recognize the name, she and Percy have history after all." Annabeth kept her eyes on the pair, but her Lola now had her complete attention, "rumor is they dated last summer but broke up after he had to go back to New York for school,"

"Hmm," Annabeth feigned disinterest.

"I hear she's still in love with him though," Lola spurred on the irrational jealousy growing within Annabeth. She saw Percy place his hand on Rachel's shoulder and without thinking through the consequences stood up and strode towards him. Momentarily forgetting that Lola was standing behind her, that they were in a public place. She forgot her own name. It was all replaced with an irrational need to make Percy's 'hers.' Then the minute Rachel had walked away she realized her mistake. She realized how bad she had it.

* * *

They were just friends but because of something Lola said she had acted against her better judgement.

Annabeth roughly ran her hand through her hair, pulling out strands of blonde out as she did. _Fuck_ , she kept repeating over and over and over again to herself. _Fuck, fuck, fuck._ That and _why do I do this to myself_.

They reached the hotel after the long drive and Annabeth exited the car. She only had a few paces to walk to the front door of her building as Percy no longer had to drop her off along the incoming road. _Oh my gods_ , she repeated that back to herself, _he literally drops me off on the side of the road like I'm a hooker, like he's embarrassed of me_. This was never going to work. She knew that now. She would never fit into his perfect paparazzi riddled world.

She shook her head at her obliviousness to their current situation and walked tentatively towards her door. As she did, Annabeth felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up. Percy was staring down at her, his brows were knitted together and concern laced the deep blue of his eyes.

"What's wrong?" he asked, "you've been acting weird ever since we talked to Merial." He was worried he should be giving her space instead of confronting the problem head on but the latter strategy always seemed to work best for him.

"I'm just tired," she shook off his hand, "that's all." He bent down, his brows still furrowed and pressed a chaste kiss to her lips. Annabeth felt her eyes brimming with tears at the emotion he poured into her through the kiss. She pulled back and placed a lingering kiss on his cheek, at the corner of his mouth. "Goodnight," she managed a smile and entered her building.

As she did she heard, "night Annabeth," and let the tear run down her cheek.

 **I'm sorry, I know that's kind of a sad ending but the next chapter will be a bit cheerier… only a bit. But chapter 50 will be happy!**


	49. Chapter 49

**A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long. It's the holidays so I was skiing. Also I was writing this chapter and it just kept getting longer and longer. Anyway, happy new year! 2016 been a bitch. Let's hope 2017 is better.**

 **Sorry y'all, there's a good chance there are errors in this but it's 3:02 am and I just wanna post this and get your guy's wait over with. Sorry if the writing is terrible or something I just don't have the energy to read through this.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson**

Annabeth woke the next morning feeling incredibly drowsy. She hadn't slept well. All night her mind had replayed every interaction, examining slight details. She was driving herself crazy.

On her way to the Emporium she didn't say much. When Piper asked her what was wrong she answered simply, 'I'm not sure.' The subject was then dropped. Annabeth was instructed by Shirley to unload merchandize in the front of the store. And so, that's exactly  
what Annabeth did. She stiffly completed her stiff taste, unaware of the blonde watching her from a lawn chair beside the pool.

After finishing she was given a second task, to make sure all the snow globes were priced correctly. Annabeth strolled down the aisle, holding the sticker gun over her shoulder. She had just priced what felt and probably was, the hundredth snow globe  
when she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her waist. Annabeth spun around and push away, holding her sticker gun as if it were a weapon.

"Percy," she let out a breath. She thought she should feel relieved but instead the tension within her coiled tighter. He eyed her sticker gun with an eyebrow raised, a smirk painting his pink lips. "Sorry," Annabeth smiled sheepishly, letting the tool  
fall to her side.

"Are you okay?" he questioned, placing a hand on her shoulder and slowly bringing it down to her hip, "you seem… jumpy."

"I'm fine," Annabeth replied curtly, causing Percy to furrow his brows in confusion, "I just have to work," Annabeth attempted to explain her odd behavior. She nudged his hand off her hip and began to turn away.

"Annabeth," Percy's gentle voice stopped her. She faced him and he brushed his slender fingers against her cheek. He barely cupped her face, tipping her head up slightly, "did I do something wrong?"

She thought a minute, "no," she said finally, "I'm just not sure I can do this,"

"Do what?" Percy asked as his thumb softly stroked her cheek bone. Annabeth swallowed, her lip parted partially as her heart fought the words that dared spill. The longer she stayed silent the more hurt she saw fill Percy's eyes. "Annabeth?" he whispered.  
She placed her own hand over his, increasing the pressure with what he held her.

"This," she breathed. She felt tears forming in the corner of her gray eyes and quickly closed them, not willing to let them fall.

"Annabeth," Percy's voice was so full of emotion she couldn't bare to open her eyes. She didn't want to see the sadness infiltrate his beautiful eyes. "Annabeth," he repeated, as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. She wasn't sure she could believe  
it.

"Annabeth!" Annabeth quickly sobered at the sound of Shirley's voice calling for her.

"I have to work," Annabeth wrapped her fingers around his hand, bringing it down from her face.

"Anna-"

"We'll talk later," she gave his hand a quick squeeze and began to walk towards Shirley's voice, her eyes still burning with unshed tears. She didn't look back. She wasn't sure she'd survive if she did.

Of course all Shirley did was pile another meaningless task on Annabeth's already hefty workload. Annabeth didn't care. She saw it as a way to keep her mind of Percy. If she was constantly thinking about something else, surely she wouldn't have time to  
ponder every interaction, every kiss, every moment of hurt and wonder if they were all worth it.

She was just finishing lugging boxes from one end of the store to the other when she ran into Lola. "What do you want?" she asked after an exasperated sigh, running her fingers through her hair.

"I saw you and Percy," Lola stated matter of factly.

"Okay," she replied, bending down to gather the bottles of sunscreen scattered across the tiled floor.

"You two are obviously dating," Lola bent down so Annabeth could see her smug smile.

"You can believe what you want to believe, Lola," Annabeth's voice put her exhaustion on display.

"I would tell my dad but Percy and I are friends," she continued, ignoring Annabeth comment and not offering to help her pick up, "and I don't want him to hate me," Annabeth nodded. She gave her a friendly yet tried smile, trying to show her gratitude.  
"If I thought you were a real threat I would say something but you two will be over before the end of the week."

"Guess you don't have anything to worry about then," Annabeth retorted but the phrase took her back to the previous night, pricking her heart with a small needle.

"Guess not," Lola stood back up as Annabeth did the same, "bye bye," she twiddled her fingers and strode away, making sure to flip her short hair as she did. Annabeth took a deep breath once she was gone, drooping her head into the box before her. Everything  
was so simple before she'd met Percy.

By the time 1:30 finally rolled around Annabeth was exhausted. She'd been pushing herself especially hard today, trying to get her mind of everything else. Piper asked her a thousand questions about the party as they trudged back to their room. Annabeth  
described the beautiful venue, the boring people and his interesting friends.

She explained it all, hoping Piper would be so overwhelmed by the information she might disregard Annabeth's lack of heart as she recalled them. She hoped she might see past her empty emotions. Unfortunately for her, Piper could always tell how people  
were feeling. She had some kind of special ability that made her see straight through bullshit.

"Annabeth what's wrong?" Pipers brows puckered in concern at her friend's desolation, "did something else happen last night? Something you're not telling me?" She didn't reply, "Annabeth!"

"Piper," the blonde muttered, "nothing happened last night, I just realized that I've been fooling myself. I thought this would work, I convinced myself it would work when it obviously won't. We don't belong together, we never will. No matter what I feel  
for him there are too many environmental factors we'd have to overcome, it's not realistic."

"Not everything has to be realistic Annabeth," Piper sighed exasperated, "love isn't always logical."

"I don't love him," Annabeth snapped, "sorry," she apologized quickly seeing the hurt in Piper's colorful eyes, "I-I can't do this, it was supposed to be a fling but I have real feelings, real feelings that can't go anywhere."

"So?" Piper shrugged, worried about where she was going.

"So we have to break up," Annabeth replied simply.

"Annabeth, no," Piper protested softy.

"Yes," Annabeth stated agitated and picked up the pace. She wanted to sleep, to wash away all the hurt, all the confusion through slumber.

"Annabeth I know it's hard but I haven't seen you this happy in… in a long time," Piper caught up to her easily with her long legs, "I honestly don't know if I've _ever_ seen you this happy."

"It doesn't matter," Annabeth shook her head, "because for all the good there's also bad. I'm constantly nervous, anxious. I think about him all the time. I can't not!" Piper smiled thoughtfully at her friend, "I hate it! It's driving me absolutely insane"  
Annabeth walk became harsher, stomping in her sandals.

"Annabeth you two should talk," Piper felt it might be best not to bring up the fact that she was obviously in love, "before you make any life altering decisions."

"Life altering," Annabeth mocked with a scoff, "it's not that big of a deal," Piper gave her a pitiful look, "seriously!" Annabeth threw open the door as they entered the building, "it's simple, coke or pepsi, chocolate or vanilla, cats or dogs."

"There's a clear winner in all of those," Piper spoke quietly, "who's your winner?"

"No," Annabeth shook her head, unlocking the door to their room, "I'm done with the mind games, I'm taking a shower." she threw down her bad, kicked off her shoes and stormed into the bathroom, slamming the shut door behind her.

A full hour had passed before Annabeth exited the shower. There was no steam in the bathroom as the water had run cold after the first 10 minutes. She wrapped a rough towel around her damp body and straightened when her cool hair brushed her bare back.  
Annabeth stepped out of the bathroom and saw her uniform laid out nicely on the bed. Piper was nowhere in sight.

Annabeth sighed, letting the towel fall. She always seemed to be taking her frustration out on Piper. It was unfair. Not only was her quasi-relationship with Percy making her sad, now it was causing her to act like a bad friend too. Annabeth shuddered  
as a soft breeze ran across her body.

She slipped on her dress, deciding she would apologize to Piper after her shift at Jake's Seafood Grill. She blow dried her hair as well as she could without instruction from Piper and was out the door with time to spare.

Her shoes clicked on the cement as she traveled to the lobby. While she'd been drying her hair she had an epiphany of sorts. What if Percy wasn't problem? What if she was? She was the bad friend, Percy wasn't doing anything. He hadn't _made_ her  
snap at Piper. But he had been the one to put her in a defensive mood. Well, it was really Lola but she was inspired by Percy and Annabeth's mood was therefore indirectly altered by her relationship with Percy.

She shook her head as she entered the main building through the automatic doors, not bothering with the dingy employee entrance. All this thinking was messing with her head. This was why she didn't like free time, there were too many thoughts waiting  
to infiltrate her mind.

Annabeth's head was still spinning when checked in with her supervisor and received her name tag. Her mind was still dizzy as she waited on the tables in her section, laughing halfheartedly at the awkward come ons by old business men. Her brain was still  
reeling as she brought out plates of overpriced salmon and slightly burnt trout.

Then she saw him and it all stopped. Her gray orbs spotted his sea green ones across the room and neither of them had the power to move. It was as if they were held in place by some kind of supernatural force.

"Did you hear that?" the middle aged man in a tight suit chortled next to her. Annabeth remained frozen, oblivious to the man's question. For a second she forgot everything. As she stared into the bright green of his eyes she felt a sudden urge to throw  
herself into his arms, a need to feel close to him again. Her mind was completely convinced a single kiss would fix everything. Then Percy's eyes changed, the blue became more prominent and she saw the hurt, the confusion and everything came back  
to her like a ton of bricks.

"Excuse me?" the customer became bored staring at her and began to pull on her skirt, successfully breaking her out of her trance, "could you serve us?" he spat, no attempt to revisit the joke he'd sputtered out earlier.

"Yes," Annabeth smiled politely, hoping the momentary distraction wouldn't affect her tip, "Sorry," She bent down slightly as she placed the trout in front of him, simultaneously balancing her tray between her arm and slender shoulder. All four of the  
men sitting around the circular table stole glances at the exposed cleavage. Annabeth might not have noticed but their eyes lingered on her chest for a bit too long. Her cookie cutter smile turned marginally sour as she finished passing out the food.

Once all the dishes were off her tray and on the table, the men resumed their conversation. Annabeth didn't say another word. She walked back into the kitchen, trying to shake off the demeaning jokes and uneasy stares.

She entered the loud kitchen and leaned against the first wall past the door. Annabeth tipped her head back and closed her eyes, taking in calming breath full of fish fumes. _I have to talk to Percy sooner or later, why not now?_ She reasoned. _Because you're working_ ,  
the angel inside her answered. Annabeth nodded internally, not moving on the outside. She was working. She would text Percy later today. He shouldn't interfere with her job.

Annabeth thought for a moment. _He shouldn't interfere with my job_ , she repeated. Why was he here then? He knew the rules. Why did he ask her to the charity fundraiser in the first place? He had no excuse! He knew the terms when he entered the  
relationship. He wasn't supposed to interfere with her career and now here he was, interfering for the tenth time this week.

"Annabeth," she heard someone yelling her name. She groaned loudly, thought it was not loud enough to overcome the banging of the kitchen appliances. _Percy makes me crazy_ , she concurred, _so I won't look at him all night_ , she decided. She  
nodded, externally this time, pleased with her problem solving skills.

"Annabeth!" she heard her name again and quickly picked herself up, scrambling towards the voice.

"Yes," she presented her supervisor a small smile and pair of bright gray eyes, hoping to avoid any questions.

"You have a call," her tone made Annabeth's heart drop, "some kind of emergency," Annabeth barely had it in her to nod. Her already diminishing smile faded completely when a large figure stepped out from behind.

 _Could my day get any worse_? She wondered.

"Mr. Castellan volunteered to pass the message," her supervisor motioned for her ex boyfriend to step forward. He walked towards her, keeping his eyes down and wringing his hands in front of him.

"Come with me," he uttered in a somber sounding voice. The knot in her chest tightened as he tugged on her elbow, guiding her into a private alcove outside the kitchen.

"What is it Luke?" Annabeth whispered, the anxiety eating her up, "is someone hurt?"

"No, no," he lifted his eyes from his feet to meet hers, his hand slowly traveling from her elbow down to her hip, "there is no emergency, I just made that up."

"What?!" Annabeth asked wide eyed, a wave of relief washed over her. But the sudden relief was quickly replaced by confusion, then anger, "Why? Why would you do that? You scared the shit out of me!" She put her hands on his chest and subtly pushed him  
back, not wanting to make a scene in the restaurant.

"I'm worried about you, Annie-" he began but Annabeth cut him off.

"Luke, don't call me Annie!" she hissed, "You have no reason to worry, we're not dating anymore. What I do, what I feel, is none of your business!" she yell whispered.

"Annabeth," his eyes were pleading. His eyes had never looked so clear as in that moment, it surprised Annabeth, "I'm sorry okay? I know I've been a complete asshole and a dick but I still care about you. It doesn't matter whether or not were dating,  
I don't want anyone hurting you… ever." She grew silent, allowing him to finish. "And I-I just wanted to say I'm sorry. And that I you deserve better than Percy. He doesn't treat you well."

"You don't know anything about us," Annabeth said under her breath, her eyes darting to her feet as she did.

"I don't have to," he placed two fingers under her chin, tipping it up tenderly, "I see how unhappy you are. You were never that unhappy with me." Annabeth smiled, laughing internally. If he only knew the pain she'd felt when she was with Luke, the chaos  
she'd internalized after he cheated. He didn't notice the bitter lining of her smile and took it as one of acceptance, acceptance of his apology.

Luke small smile broadened and broke into a full out grin. A grin she hadn't seen in too long. A grin that still made her happy inside. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against his body for a tight and slightly possessive hug. Annabeth tentatively  
hugged him back. She wasn't sure if she would ever forgive him but friendship was a good start, maybe he really had changed.

Annabeth closed her eyes and he held her for an unusually long time. Finally, after several seconds he pulled away but then brought her forehead to his lips, kissing her gently. "We'll talk soon?" he breathed into her hairline.

Annabeth nodded silently. She felt him smile against her before he strolled away, walking confidently. Annabeth fell back against the wall of the small alcove, trying to rationalize her and Luke's hug. It felt… nice? His arms were warm and his body was  
soft but Annabeth couldn't help but compare him to Percy. Next to Percy's, the hug was nothing. A bland piece of seed toast next to Percy's blue pancakes.

Annabeth sighed. It was something she'd been doing a lot of today, sighing. Every interaction made her miss Percy, in every blue object she saw his gorgeous eyes, his beautiful personality, his ability to make her laugh despite herself. Then she saw him,  
living in the glamorous world of fame and reality, the logical rational side of her saw hundred of hurdles in their future, thousands of fights over meaningless things, millions of dark lonely moments.

Annabeth walked back into the kitchen, shaking her head. "What happened?" her fellow employees all asked, "that bad?" they asked when she sent them a bleak smile.

"Everything's okay," she assured them in a quiet voice.

"Bright side," one of her friends, Miranda, chirped, "a group of hotties were just seated in your section."

"Great," Annabeth dead toned, straightening up, "are table four's orders ready yet?" she yelled so the cooks would hear her. Emmy, one of the new chefs pointed to the counter to her right, where six plates were neatly packed onto a silver tray, "thank  
you," she said, though it was not nearly loud enough for anyone to hear, and, after picking up the tray and expertly balancing it's contents, strode out the door.

Annabeth walked to table four, carefully weaving through the wide tables. She greeted the dinner party with a false smile. She sensed a pair of eyes watching her and passed out the meals, trying to act normal, not at all affected by the intense stare  
despite emotions it invoked within her. She managed to laugh make a bit of polite small talk before giving into temptation and meeting Percy's eyes across the room.

He was seated only a few tables away, surrounded by several young men dressed in perfectly tailored suits. Her lips curled into an involuntary smile at the sight of him. Though he was dressed as nice as his companions, the ever messy raven hair gave him  
an air of informality. His eyes light up when their gazes connected, their eyes momentarily interlocking.

Annabeth bit her lip and watched his eyes scan the group chatting around him, surveying his options. His eyes returned to Annabeth's, quickly flicked to the secluded restroom and back to her. Annabeth, easily understanding the gesture, thought for a moment  
then shook her head, satisfied with her decision to talk to him another time. She knew she was avoiding her problems but she'd never been a fan of direct confrontation and decided it would hurt to delay the impending conversation.

Percy kept a good natured smile for his friends but at her response his eyes betrayed the facade. He brought his head back down and tried to enjoy a dinner with business associates knowing full well Annabeth would be on his mind every other minute.

Annabeth spun around on her high heel. Once in the kitchen, she pinched the bridge of her nose. She knew she was hurting him, she could practically _feel_ the hurt radiating off of him. She knew she was being selfish by asking him to wait for her  
explanation but she was scared. Annabeth was scared utterly terrified she might make the wrong decision. She was afraid she might be letting go of the only person who'd made he feel this way.

"Annabeth!" she heard her supervisor's alarmed tone and hastily picked up her head.

"Yes?" she asked, hopefully masking any distress in her voice. She really needed to stop getting so distracted at work, someone was bound to notice at some point.

"What are you doing here?" the small brunette hissed.

"Coming back to check on my orders" Annabeth pitched lifted at the end, making it sound more like a question than a definitive statement. Her perky supervisor stared at her astounded though Annabeth had no idea why.

"You haven't waited on table eight yet and they just complained!" she said, running her fingers through her hair in a frustrated manner.

 _Fuck_ , Annabeth's eyes widened as she remembered. One of the waitresses was sick and she consequently was supposed to be covering both tables eight and nine.

"Right," Annabeth nodded, "so sorry, I totally forgot about Taylor's tables." Her supervisor don't look forgiving in anyway, "I'll go right now," Annabeth dropped her tray onto the counter next to her and after sending her supervisor a quick apology for  
the clatter hastily scrambled out the door. Annabeth blindly reached into apron pocket, feeling around for her small notepad as her eyes skimmed the room for table eight.

Annabeth found it and began to stumble towards it, her eyes focused on the active search for her notepad. She smiled, having finally located it and greeted the table.

"Welcome to Jake's Seafood Grill," she flipped to the next page of the pad, "sorry for the wait," she uncapped the pencil with her teeth, "what can I get" Annabeth breath caught in her throat when she raised her eyes and saw Percy's staring back at her,  
"you guys to drink this evening" Annabeth finished in a slightly less enthusiastic voice.

"If I'd have known they were sending you I wouldn't have complained," one of the guys chuckled as he leaned forward in his seat, flashing Annabeth a flirtatious grin. She smiled back, trying to keep her eyes off the one who had been distracting her all  
night.

"Mhm," the guy closest to her hummed in agreement, "well worth the wait," Annabeth managed to keep her smile plastered on her face as she repeated her question from earlier.

"Can I get you guys any drinks?" the constant sexual harassment had taught her to always answer politely, keep a smile on your face and your tone cheery.

"What's your name?" One of the guys asked, trying to push her hair aside to read her name tag.

"Annabeth," she replied. She brushed her hair over her shoulder and hoped it end his excuse to touch her.

"Annabeth," he repeated to back to the table this time as if they hadn't been able to hear her themselves. He chuckled softly before another guy cut in.

"Annabeth do you like it rough?" Annabeth eyes widened and her breath caught in her throat.

"What?" she managed to croak, shocked by his audacity.

"Annabeth what time do you get off?" another one asked, not giving Annabeth anytime to recuperate.

Percy exasperated sigh interrupted the next question, "I'll have an old fashioned," Percy was the first to give her an actual order. He kept his tone polite, desperately trying to catch Annabeth's gaze with his own. She avoided it however, keeping her  
eyes glued to her notepad, scribbling furiously.

The rest of the table didn't elaborate on their intrusive questions and followed Percy's lead, one by one listing off their drink orders.

"I'll have those out in a minute," Annabeth tried to smile but found herself unable to muster the strength and settled for a slight tug at the corner of her lips. She walked back to the kitchen, her smile melting more into a frown with every step. Annabeth  
tore the page off her notepad and used a magnet to stick it to the metal shelf above the kitchen bar. She decided to check in with her other tables, all of which were nearing the end of their meal, while waited for Percy's tables' drinks.

When they were finally ready she loaded them onto a shiny tray and strode towards the table, hoping they would order quickly without making any attempts at conservation. All but Percy were laughing when Annabeth arrived and the chatter almost immediately  
died out at her presence. Annabeth circle around the table, gently placing their drinks in front of them.

Once it was empty she tucked the tray under an arm and asked, "are you guys ready to order?"

The men exchanges questioning glances and then nodded. Annabeth's lips curled upwards in relief. Then the first man to her life spoke and all relief disappeared.

"Settle a bet for us," the man had dirty blonde hair that was glossily slicked back. He seemed to be neither the youngest nor eldest of the group, settling at a comfortable middle point, "Annabeth," he added her name at the end, the movement of his tongue  
exaggerated as he did. Annabeth bit back a snarl of disgust and instead tried to decline.

"I'm have a lot of other tables," Annabeth attempted to keep her tone sweet, "I don't have much time,"

"It won't take long," he reasoned, leaning towards her a bit. Annabeth hesitantly nodded, she knew the longer she resisted the longer the entire interaction would take. He raised an eyebrow at another young man across the table with dark skin and even  
darker hair. It was cut short in a military like style.

"Does the carpet match the drapes?" he snickered after being given permission by the other.

"Uh-" Annabeth wasn't sure what to say.

"Guys," Percy glared around the table, looking tired, like this was something that happened all the time. They were obviously teasing her and were obviously used to getting away with it but she sure as hell wasn't used to this kind of treatment, "can  
we just order?" he pleaded the group.

"What's wrong Percy?" one of them sneered, "too good for us now?"

"No," Percy scowled, wringing his hands under the table, "I'm hungry, let's order."

"This is Percy," the man turned towards Annabeth and motioned towards the green eyed boy, "he used to be fun." he explained, oblivious to the fact that they knew each other.

"Octavius!" Percy hissed, "drop it," he shot a dirty look at his friend… acquaintance… enemy? Annabeth wasn't sure at this point.

"It's true," the dirty blonde from earlier continued, "but now he's fucking a new bitch and is acting like a boring little pussy," Percy kept his eyes forward, his fist clenched beside him, his normally plump lips a straight thin line, "but soon enough  
he'll be back to normal, he'll realize she's not worth it just like he always does,"

"What can I get you guys to eat?" Annabeth repeated, pretending she hadn't just been called a bitch or told she wasn't 'worth it.' Worth what? Hollywood? Fame? Fortune? Annabeth used to think she was worth more than all of those but now she was beginning  
to doubt herself.

"I'll have the bacon carbonara," Percy decided and handed her the menu, subtly brushing her hand as he did. Annabeth shook off the rush his touch produced within her and turned to the man next to her. Although Percy was definitely the youngest they all  
seemed follow him in some sense.

"Filet Mignon," Annabeth cringed when the dirty blonde winked at her and flashed her a sly smile.

As the rest of the table ordered their meals Annabeth tried to keep her eyes from Percy. She really tried but there was something about him, something about his eyes. He was always able to draw her in despite herself. She sensed a silent apology in his  
stare.

The group finished ordering and Annabeth tore her eyes away from Percy's. She stuck to her routine. She gave the cooks the order then checked on her other tables. Annabeth liked routines, she liked stability. Stable was something Percy definitely was  
not.

Annabeth found herself pondering her relationships stability when she felt someone grab her wrist and was whisked into a dark corner of the room. She felt a pair of soft lips brush her ear and heard a familiar voice.

"Bathroom," Percy whispered, "two minutes," then left her.

"Fine," Annabeth huffed, though no one could hear her, and stomped her foot like a two year old. She disposed of her tray in the kitchen and refused to acknowledge the emptiness she felt when Percy's hands left her skin.

Annabeth had barely closed the bathroom door behind her when it creaked open again, revealing Percy's warm smile. He locked the door behind him and stepped forward. Annabeth hated the way her body reacted, magnetically drawn to his.

"I'm sorry," were the first words to come out of his mouth.

"For what?" Annabeth asked in a shy voice. She backed into the small white room to give him space and felt the sink bump her bottom.

"For them," he nodded towards the door, towards his horrible friends, "I wouldn't be having dinner with the in the first place but they're the producers and actors for my next movie,"

"It's fine," Annabeth eyes dropped to their feet. She saw his black dress shoes take a confident stride forward and felt Percy's fingers gently tug her chin up, forcing her to look him in the eye.

"It's not," he shook his head, his eyes radiating sadness. A sadness Annabeth don't want to face. A sadness she knew she was the source of, "they were being horrible and disrespectful and I'm sorry,"

"It's fine, Percy," Annabeth whispered, knowing full well it wasn't. At this point she would do anything to dull the pain he felt, "it happens all the time. I'm used to it,"

"You're used to that?" Percy hissed. His face reddened and his pupils began to dilate, filling the beautiful shades of his iris with black, "to guys treating you like," his voice grew quieter, his eyes wider as if he were afraid of her answer. His hand  
moved from her chin to her shoulder, gripping her tightly, "like that?"

Annabeth gave him a small pitiful smile at his apparent obliviousness to the reality of the hotel staffs' treatment. "It was hard at the beginning but after a while you learn to paint a smile on your face and carry on,"

"Annabeth, you shouldn't have to deal with that," Percy eyebrows were knitted together as if he were trying to find a solution to the problem. Annabeth knew there was none.

"It's part of the job," she shrugged, hoping he would drop it. She didn't like it when people felt bad for her. He simply stared at her, filling the silence with a tension so thick she could almost see it as a tangible fog surrounding the pair.

"Annabeth, did we break up this morning?" Percy said so low it was barely audible. Annabeth swallowed with some difficulty, her eye becoming glossy with tears. She opened her mouth but found herself unable to utter a single word.

"Annabeth," Percy repeated, his voice pleading. She wanted to speak She wanted a chance to explain but as she gazed into Percy's swirling eyes she was flooded with emotion.

"Later," she breathed, hoping it would give her time to mull over the overwhelming gut feeling that she was doing something she'd regret for the rest of her life, "I'll explain later," she said in a slightly louder voice.

"Annabeth," Percy attempted to groan but it came out more of a sigh, "I don't know how much longer I can wait. I'm not known for being patient," he chuckled, though neither of them found it funny, "I'm constantly thinking about you, worrying about what  
you, wondering about you, fantasizing about you. I've already driven myself halfway to insanity over analyzing your words this morning. I don't know how much longer I can do this,"

Annabeth nodded. She knew the feeling. All morning she'd replayed every interaction they'd ever had, looking for a sign. "Tonight?" she suggested. Percy nodded, asking her to continue. "North beach? Where we um… you know," Her awkward half smile brought  
a small grin to Percy. Even through the delightful curve of his lips however, Annabeth could still see the sadness and confusion that lay behind.

"What time?" he asked, checking his watch, "it's 7:30,"

"I get off at eight,"

"Nine, then?" Percy proposed. Annabeth nodded in acceptance. They both stood in silence for a few minutes, staring at each other, both worrying what they might be losing later that night.

"I have to go back to work," Annabeth said finally, "I'll see you at nine?" her tone lifted hopefully at the end. Percy returned the expression and watched her wistfully as she slowly unlocked the door and exited the restroom.

Annabeth did her best to avoid Percy's table the rest of the evening. She only visited the group once during the 30 minutes left in her shift. When the clock struck eight Annabeth found her supervisor and rushed out of the restaurant, desperate to get  
some peace and quiet. She needed an opportunity to think, to plan out what she was gonna say.

Annabeth began her journey to the beach with her mind still swimming in confusion. She arrived a quarter before nine and, after sitting on the sand and trying to ignore tantalizing memories of the night they'd spent there, decided to wet her toes. She  
stripped off her sandals and, as she was wearing jean shorts, easily stepped into the water. It was colder than she'd expected, probably due to the lack of sun she concluded.

She closed her eyes and let the wind push her curls out of her face, the ocean quietly lapping at her ankles. Percy was still nowhere in sight and Annabeth found the swelling of ocean currents calming against her smooth skin.

She took a deep breath in, the water making her more unsure of her words than ever. For her, the dinner scene earlier had been a clear indication of how she didn't fit into Percy's life, how she never would. She would always feel slightly uncomfortable.  
She would never be able to fully let go knowing there were hundreds of paparazzi following her every move. Percy might be able to live that life but she couldn't. It don't matter anyway, in less than a month they would be thousands of miles apart.  
In a year they'd both be in college, beginning their lives, beginning their careers.

She exhaled loudly through her nose and felt the hot air run down her bare arms. She took another step and felt the water rise to her upper thighs, brushing lightly against the bottom of her shorts. With every step she took the more she doubted the decision  
to break up.

Her mind kept yelling at her, urging her to do it. It made perfect logical sense. It was the rational decision. The only way to ensure she didn't get hurt. Annabeth didn't like risks, being with Percy was a risk. But while her mind rumbled, her heart  
roared. Within her a storm raged. Every second she spent away from Percy strained her heart, she could only imagine the pain that would come of being apart from him the rest of her life. Her heart screamed to let her emotions take over, to let their  
chemistry control her actions. It was most illogical, most irrational but still, Annabeth found herself unable to make a decisive conclusion.

She felt tears brim her eyes but her pride got in her way. She brought a hand up and swiftly wiped the away, not letting them fall past her cheekbones. Annabeth had always prided herself in being rational, prided herself in being logical. She held pride  
in her ability to always make the intelligent decision and not let her emotions or past affect her ambitions. Yet here she was, questioning her own mind. The one she'd always held superior to others. Could her constantly analytical thinking be flawed?  
Could there be truth to Piper's claim that 'life didn't have to be logical'?

Annabeth shook her head and blinked back another tear. She was fucked; totally, utterly, royally and completely fucked. It was a lose lose situation. In one her mind lost, in the other her heart. They were both organs she couldn't live without yet they  
were in two wholly conflicting positions. She was pondering which was more important to her, which she might be able to manage with incapacitated when Percy startled her.

He had strolled down the beach, breathing in the salty scent of the ocean water that always seemed to give him strength. Strength, something he needed whenever he fought with Annabeth. And he knew that was what was coming. He'd never felt this nervous  
before. He'd never felt more dread than earlier when she'd told him she 'couldn't do this anymore'.

Then at dinner he'd been forced to watch as his associates openly disrespected her, making crude comments about her perfect body and angelic face when she left. How'd he'd wanted to strangle everyone at the table in that second, really in all the seconds  
during dinner. He felt trapped, knowing she'd be angry with him if he made a suspicious scene by standing up for her and sad when he did nothing.

Seeing the sadness in her eyes in the bathroom mirrored how he'd felt all day. His heart was being poked and prodded from every direction and soaked in anxiety. He couldn't' lose her. He wouldn't lose her. They'd been together less than a month and he  
couldn't imagine life without her.

Percy's emotions smoldered within him. They roared in his chest like a dragon coming to life. All day they'd plagued him and Will's words echoed through his mind, 'you're in love.'

Love.

It was word he avoided. A word he tried to ignore.

Percy found himself breathing thinly as he stared out into the blue ocean before him. Then he saw her. Annabeth. And his aching heart and swirling emotions slowly faded into the backdrop of blue. She was all he saw and it terrified him.

He ignored the fear and silently stumbled towards her, pausing momentarily to gaze at glorious figure partially submerged in the water. From afar he admired her stubborn golden curls and imagined tenderly running his fingers through them. The water around  
them reflected a cracked image of the moon, illuminating the richly tanned skin that covered her strong slender shoulder.

A mischievous smirk brightened his marveled expression. He kicked off his shoes, unknowingly leaving them next to Annabeth's. Percy unbuttoned his work trousers, his eyes never leaving Annabeth, and let them slid down his legs, barely making a sound as  
they crumpled onto the sand. Now looking unbelievably underdressed below the waist, he silently strode into the water separating him from Annabeth.

He stopped a few inches behind her and considered his options. Despite the temptation to drape her hair over one of her shoulder and warmly kiss the other he thought he'd rather see her smile, really genuinely smile. If he were lucky she might even laugh.

His hands came up from their resting position on either side of his hips and traveled to her waist, lingering a few seconds. Then Percy did it. His hands tightened around her waist as he hissed, "boo!" right into her ear. He felt her body tense up and  
lurch forward at a stranger's touch.

As if instinctively, his head rest on her shoulder, a thin layer of hair separating his chin and her shoulder. At the following action Annabeth body almost immediately relaxed. She let out a loud laugh of relief. A laugh that rang through Percy's body,  
momentarily dissipating the anxiety inside him and eliciting a wide grin.

Annabeth pried his arms off her and spun around with the sincere smile that made his heart melt and his worries disappear, even when they were looking his straight in the eye. Annabeth experienced the same lapse of concern for their current situation  
and pushed him back playfully.

"You scared me," She furrowed her brows trying to communicate her distaste in his actions but her smile shone through the expression.

"That was precisely the intention," he smiled smugly down at her, his arms winding around her waist again. She struggled out of his grasp and smacked her arm across the water, producing a wave of water aimed at Percy.

He laughed, easily dodging it. She raised an arm to splash him again but his lighting quick reflexes got the better of her and he grabbed her wrist before her fingertips had even brushed the water. Percy pulled her flush against him and relished in the  
feeling of her heart racing against his.

His heart broke a little bit thinking this moment could be their last happy one. She evidently realized the same thing as he noticed the smile slide off her face and the gray of her eyes turn pale. His grip loosened and she stepped back to put a gap of  
space between them. As she did Annabeth stepped on a mossy rock and slipped backwards, falling almost completely into the water.

Percy caught her a second too late. The bottom half of her body was completely soaked in water. Despite what he saw as a heroic act Annabeth fixed him with an angry glare.

"Percy!" she yelled, "you got me all wet!"

"Me?" he asked, taken aback. Surely he had heard wrong. She wasn't blaming him for something that was so obviously her own fault.

"Yes, you!" Annabeth shoved him back, careful not to slip this time, and stormed back onto the sandy beach. Once there she stripped off the dripping clothing, holding it before her as if it were a smelly sock.

"Me?" Percy repeated, more out of anger than confusion, and quickly followed her back to the beach, taking long strides to catch up.

"My phone," Annabeth moaned and pulled the soaking device out of the back pocket. She jammed her eyes shut and prayed to the gods it would work, she didn't need another expense. She hit the home button and cracked an eyelid to peek at it. She let out  
a frustrated sound that was muffled by her gritted teeth when she saw the black screen. She tried to turn it on a few more times but to no avail.

"You probably shouldn't do that," Percy said in a slightly annoyed voice.

"Do what?" Annabeth hissed, whipping her head up to face him.

"Press the buttons," he drawled, "I think it fries something inside,"

"Wow," Annabeth replied sarcastically, "thanks, Percy," she took a few angry steps towards him, disposing of her useless phone and wet shorts on the pile of Percy's dry black pants, "maybe next time you could not push me into the water?" she suggested  
with a bitter smile.

"I didn't push you," Percy argued, raising his voice slightly, "you fell absolutely on your own," he too took an angry step forward.

"As if," Annabeth exaggeratedly rolled her eyes, "You pushed me into the water so you could catch me," she used her fingertips to push the hard chest in front of her. Percy barely stumbled back. "So you could act like the hero you want me to believe you  
are,"

"Annabeth," Percy laughed, trying to hide his frustration, "you slipped because you were _so_ desperate for me to catch you,"

"Did it ever occur to you," Annabeth voice grew louder, thankfully there weren't others on the beach that night, "that I did it because I was so desperate to get away from you?"

"It doesn't matter," Percy smiled, having cornered a master debater, "you just admitted it was your fault," he raised an eyebrow and saw her jaw tighten beneath her skin, "you were the one who slipped," Annabeth's hardened expression wasn't quite enough  
satisfaction for Percy, "sucks to lose doesn't it?"She took a step back and our of pure frustration, picked up a long piece of seaweed and threw it at him.

The stringy pungent plant whipped his cheek, falling inelegantly onto this head. Percy eyes widened at the gesture and Annabeth burst out laughing.

"If you think _you_ could ever beat _me_ ," she gave him a pitiful smile, "then you're brain must be made of seaweed," That's when Percy lost it, his cool facade dissipated and the frustration revealed, "seaweed brain," Annabeth called out tauntingly.

"Yeah? Well you're a-" Percy eyes shifted to her exposed legs and the distracted caused his mind to stop moving as quickly, "a wise girl!"

"A wise girl?" Annabeth repeated in a widely patronizing tone.

"Yeah," Percy tried to rescue his bad comeback, "like a know it all,"

"Mhm," Annabeth squinted her eyes and nodded sarcastically, "a brain full of seaweed versus a brain full of knowledge, wonder who I'd want to be," They stood in silence for a second. They're eyes blazing into each other, their bodies tense and still.

"Annabeth," Percy spoke finally, unable it lower it to it's normal level as something still raged within him, "why don't we address the real issue?" he saw the aggressive gleam rapidly disappear from Annabeth's eyes, forming a mixture of what he felt  
inside. The sadness, the anger, the dread were all blatantly clear before him. But what was most prominently featured in the dark depths of gray was fear.

She didn't say a word, only swallowed tightly and gave him a tentative nod. Realizing he would have to be the first to speak he cleared his throat and was about to speak when Annabeth beat him to it.

"Sit," she motioned towards the ground. Percy followed her instructions and she sat down in front of him. Her eyes were down, staring into the thousands of grains of ground up shells instead of his eyes.

"Annabeth, I-" Percy began.

"Me first," she interrupted him with a hand, "I don't know I can do this," Annabeth repeated her exact words from earlier but it didn't lighten the drop of Percy's heart, "I don't belong in your world," she spoke slowly in a slightly robotic tone, as  
if she'd rehearsed the speech, "I can't dance, I hate small talk, I think books more than movies," she took a deep breath, "I think we should break up. It's bound to happen sooner or later and I guess I just figured the sooner the better," Annabeth  
don't raise her eyes, "that way we can both move on with our lives and forget this happened,"

"Annabeth I don't want to forget this happened," Percy couldn't believe she wanted to forget, "and truthfully I'm not sure I'd be able to if I tried,"

"It doesn't matter," Annabeth shook her head, "I'm not part of this world,"

"That's what I like about you," Percy replied heatedly, "you're not superficial like the others, you actually care. You work hard to achieve your goals, you solve problems yourself instead of throwing money at them and hoping they solve themselves,"

"It won't be so endearing when I don't understand your references, when I can't attend parties without feeling out of place,"

"Muriel and Ralph do it," Percy explained like Annabeth would automatically remember the random couple they'd met at the gala. Thankfully, she had an excellent memory even if she was slightly tipsy, "He hates fame and she surrounded by it yet their blissfully  
happy."

"But they're married Percy," Annabeth tone softened, "we're not. We're not even really dating. All we do is have sex and engage in the occasional foreplay,"

"Let's make this real then," Annabeth ignored all the problem with his proposal and continued.

"Do you really think we'd last that long? I mean we've only been in this quasi relationship for a week or two and we're already out of the honeymoon period. Maybe the clocks just up on us,"

"Of course I believe we will stay together," Percy looked hurt, "why else would I fight this hard to keep you? I care about you,"

"You do now," Annabeth reasoned, "but soon you'll get bored. Everyone knows it. Your producer even brought it up at dinner. And it's not like I'm an adrenaline junky, a live a boring life Percy. You're bound to notice that at some point. Once all this  
sneaking around is over the intrigue will disappear and so will your interest," Annabeth's heart broke as she uttered the words, just imagining the situation pained her.

"While it's true I often break up with girls out of boredom none of those other girls are you," Annabeth kept her eyes on the sand by her hand, drawing small meaningless patterns, "I've never been less bored in my life. I can't believe you think you are  
boring," he reached forward and cupped Annabeth cold cheek in his warm hand, bringing her eyes up to his, "even though you like to follow rules and don't like parties I find myself hopelessly hanging on to your every word, everything about you is  
fascinating Annabeth." Annabeth didn't dare smile. She wanted to believe him but she was too scared, "I've never been so thoroughly captivated by a single person,"

"You might like that about me know but you soon you'll realize that I don't fit in, you'll get bored and dump me. And I'm not sure I'd survive Percy!" Annabeth was near tears, her voice grew louder until she was shouting, luckily the beach was empty.

"I don't care if you don't fit in!" Percy retorted with the same fervor, "I don't care if you come to parties, I don't care if you come to my premieres or get along with my friends! All I care about is you! I want to be with you, can't you accept that?"

"I'm scared!" she screamed, "Okay, Percy?" she lowered her voice, "I'm absolutely terrified. I'm know I'm going to get hurt. Every minute, every second I spend with you my feelings grow and the longer we're together the more it will hurt in the end."  
Percy bravely met her fierce yet saddened eyes. His heart hurt seeing her hurt, his entire being was in pain knowing he was the one who was causing the pain. "I'm not part of this world and one day it'll dawn on you,"

"Fine," Percy swallowed, willing to do almost anything to get rid of the pain in her eyes, "You may not be part of this world but I'm a part of yours, right?"

"What?" Annabeth asked, confused.

"I'm a normal highschool student the other nine months of the year,"

"In New York," Annabeth point out,

"I know you're scared," Percy ignored the interruption, "but if you're willing to try to integrate into my world I should do the same, all I need is a promise you'll stand by me through it,"

"I guess," Annabeth nodded, "but what do you mean? How would you become part of my world?"

"I'd meet your friends," he suggested, hope filling his eyes as he peered into her, "take you on a real date. Maybe we could go to a cute diner like they do in the movies?" he offered.

"Maybe," Annabeth smiled tentatively, "but it we'd have to be disguised. It would be a lot of work, are you sure it's worth it?"

"Annabeth," Percy looked slightly hurt again, "this," he motioned to the two of them, "is worth more than all the fame and the money and the glory," Annabeth nodded again, more confidently this time. She and Percy sat in comfortable silence before Annabeth  
interjected.

"Wow," she laughed, "you really are a seaweed brain,"

"Annabeth," Percy scowled, not at all sure what she was referring to. He hadn't done anything stupid in the last minute had he? All the done was profess his feelings. If she don't feel the same way she could have said something before.

"So are you gonna ask?" Annabeth smiled shyly, disturbing his train of thought.

"Ask what?" Percy raised an eyebrow.

"Ask me on a date?"

"Oh," Percy blushed and flashed her a troublesome smile she found entirely endearing, "Annabeth Chase," he reached out and took her hand in his, "Will you go out with me?"

"Hmm," she pretend to think about it. Percy laughed but still looked a little nervous. Annabeth decided to end his misery by answering, "Yes," she replied simply. The simple word that had his emotions jumping and his heart doing confusing little backflips.

She smiled at his slightly stunned looking expression and leaned forward to press a chaste kiss to his warm inviting lips. Percy pulled back despite her whine of opposition and tipped his head downwards, connecting them at their foreheads.

"I won't lose you," he whispered, their eyes still closed. His words tickled her lips and nerve ending behind them began to dance. She nodded, truly hoping he meant them. She wasn't ready to let go, she wasn't she she'd ever be.

Percy remained inches from her as his lips traveled to her jaw, running tender kisses along it before moving to her neck. He slipped an around around her back and leaned into her, lowering her back into the sand. His body settled next to hers, his neck  
straining to reach the outer parts of her opposite shoulder.

He lips retraced the trail of fire they'd left the first time, only doubling the effect. He returned to her lips and kissed her gently. He pulled away and Annabeth was caught speechless at the look in his eyes and he gazed down at her. She felt an irrational  
urge to cry but ignored it.

Percy laid down on the sand beside her. Annabeth clutched his bicep and wrapped around his arm, nuzzling her face in the crook of his neck. Annabeth imagine a future without him. Her heart was torn in two when she pictured his future without her.

"Percy," she breathed.

"Mh?," he replied, his throat vibrating pleasantly against her nose.

"I think," Annabeth struggled with her words. She was suddenly unsure what to say, why she started talking in the first place, "I-" she licked her lips, "I l-" she swallowed past the thick lump in her throat, "like you," she finished. She couldn't say  
it. It wasn't that she wasn't sure, she just couldn't. It wouldn't come out, "I really like you," she repeated.

"I like you too," Percy replied in a tone laced with sleep.

 **A/N: Sorry if the argument felt a little rushed, I'm just so so tired.**

 **lol I just realized how ridiculously long this chapter is. Well, hope you guys like inconsistency!**


	50. Chapter 50

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson**

Annabeth woke the next morning feeling both especially hopeful and especially nervous. If today didn't go well it would become abundantly clear that their relationship would never work, that it would not be able to endure the test of time. How Annabeth hoped it would work. If she let go right now a piece of her heart would still remain with Percy and remain there for years.

Annabeth threw a lazy arm across her mattress reaching for her phone to silence her alarm. After a few irritating seconds of blind tapping the alarm she'd used to find calming but now hated was turned off. She let out a loud groan that seamlessly melted into a yawn as she relaxed back into her mattress. She was still stunned that last night when she'd returned and her phone had miraculously turned itself back on.

Oh, last night.

Percy had fallen asleep on the beach and she'd felt bad waking him. He looked so calm, so young. The distress had completely disappeared from his face. Instead of ruining his moment of relaxation she lay next to him and, as creepy as it sounded, watched him sleep, softly tracing meaningless patterns into his bicep. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the way him warmth enveloped her and his breath calmed her soul. When midnight rolled around she finally woke him with a sweet, "you drool in your sleep," and despite protests from both sides they parted ways and returned to their own rooms for the rest of the night.

She stretched her arms above her head, her back arching away from the bed as a result, and a lovely fuzzy warmth spread across her body, urging her back to sleep. Annabeth remembered it was Thursday, her free day, and all desire to start her day abandoned her. She let her eyes flutter shut and her arms fall back down onto the bed with a graceless flop.

"Mhh," she hummed as she wrapped herself in the scratchy hotel supplied sheets that could not have felt anymore perfect in that moment.

"Annabeth," Piper sang in a voice much to chirpy for Annabeth's liking. She opened the bathroom door and peered at her friend who was desperately trying to return to her slumber, "We have to talk about you constantly stealing the bottom bunk," she said as she strolled across the room and dropped onto the corner of Annabeth's mattress, "it's not exactly fair,"

The blonde ignored the weight shift and pulled the pillow out from underneath her head, placing it roughly over her disheveled hair in an attempt to block out the sound.

"but first," Piper easily plucked the cushion from Annabeth's still half asleep limbs, "I have an idea,"

"What?" Annabeth grumbled, eyes still closed as she tried to tug the pillow out of her friend's vice grip.

"A double date," she stated simply. Annabeth gave up on the pillow and peeked an eye open.

"What?" she repeated, her sleep drunk mind not putting two and two together.

"Last night you told me you and Percy were going on a date today," she explained slowly, though not unkindly, "I think Jason and I should come with you,"

"Ugh," Annabeth sat up slowly, careful not to hit her head on the upper bunk. She rubbed her eyes, clearing sleep sand out of the corners, and remembered why she'd set an alarm today.

She had a date.

With Percy.

Her heart was giddy at the mere words, "that may not be the best idea," Annabeth reasoned, stumbling out of bed and towards the bathroom to hop in the shower, "the date is supposed to be incognito," Piper followed her into the white room, flipping on the light switch. Annabeth winced and squinted her eyes at the sudden blinding light.

"I'm sure it will be fine," Piper commented as Annabeth pulled back the shower curtain and in one fluid movement turned on the shower, "Jason and I will dress plain and take away from your guys' awesomeness," she flattered loudly over the sound of the water pouring out of the shower head.

"Piper, the date is already risky as is," Annabeth protested, testing the water temperature with a cautious hand, "I don't want to stress Percy out anymore than necessary," she added, hoping to solidify her case.

"Let's call him then," Piper suggested in a teasing voice, "find out what he thinks,"

"He probably not up yet," Annabeth said a bit too quickly. Piper threw her a pointed look but gave in.

"Fine," she shrugged, the lilting smile playing on her lips went unnoticed by Annabeth as Piper casually turned and left the bathroom, closing the door softly behind her.

Piper sat down on the edge of the bed, folding her hands into her lap in case Annabeth walked back out. She waited until she heard the swoosh of the shower curtain before lunging for Annabeth's phone which was easily accessible as she'd left it on her bedside table.

It was no grand task unlocking Annabeth's phone, she'd discovered the password ages ago. She scrolled through the contacts and saw no Percy so she went through her messages. It might have been an invasion of privacy but Piper found it absolutely necessary to ensure her friend's happiness. She had to meet Percy and find out if he was really good enough for her.

She found a string of texts that looked suspiciously flirty and noticed the area code was 212. She wasn't sure what state it belonged to but it was a long way from California that was for sure. Piper dialed the number and held the phone to her ear, hoping he'd pick up. As the call rang she kept her eyes on the door the to bathroom and prayed Annabeth had opted for a longer shower than usual.

"Hey," she heard a deep voice on the other end pick up.

"Percy?" Piper needed to confirm his identity before revealing anything about Annabeth's date.

"This isn't Annabeth," Percy stated slowly, sounding a bit confused.

"Is this Percy?" Piper rephrased.

"Yes," he answered, "who is this?"

"This is Piper," she answered brightly, "I'm a friend of Annabeth's."

"I know," Percy replied and she could practically hear his grin over the phone, "we met briefly,"

"Yes," Piper dismissed her star struck moments and explained her proposal, "I know you and Annabeth are going on a date today and was wondering if you'd want to make it a double?"

"Why are you asking me?" Percy asked suspiciously, "does Annabeth know?"

"Of course she knows silly," Piper laughed nonchalantly, "She wanted me to check and make sure it was okay with you though," There was a slightly pause on the other end.

"Okay," Percy nodded though Piper couldn't see him, "I told her I wanted to meet her friends anyway so two birds with one stone,"

"Why don't we meet for lunch?" Piper suggested, "or did you already have plans?"

"Only an hour or two in the morning," Percy said quickly, "I was going to play it by ear,"

"Well, now you don't have to," Piper grinned, she was great at this, "meet us at Shelly's at two o'clock. Annabeth knows the address,"

"Can I talk to her?" Percy questioned.

"Um," Piper's heart punched her ribs when she heard the shower come to a squeaky stop, "I actually have to go now. Don't be late," she called into the phone and hung up before Percy could argue. She placed the phone where Annabeth had left it and made herself busy picking out an outfit for her friend.

Annabeth exited the bathroom with a white towel wrapped around her body. She tucked a droopy wet curl behind her ear and approached her closet, humming as she did.

"Wait," Piper stepped forward and blocked her path, "I already picked out an outfit,"

"Piper," Annabeth said with a groan, rolling her eyes, "I never like the outfits you pick out for me,"

"Please," Piper pleaded. She took her friend by the wrist and hauled her towards the modest outfit she'd laid out for her on the bed.

"Piper-" Annabeth whined but allowed herself to be dragged, "oh," she said surprised when she caught sight of the white romper and jean jacket before her, "it's actually not that bad," she observed.

"Not that bad," Piper snorted, "my style is always flawless and you know it,"

"I do," Annabeth conceded as she searched her drawer for a fresh pair of underwear, "but it doesn't mean I have to like it,"

"Just put it on," Piper laughed, walking over to the kitchen to pick up her own phone. As Annabeth got changed she dialed Jason's number.

"Hello," he answered. She loved the way his tone wasn't a question, turning the simple word into a lovely greeting that brightened her entire morning.

"Hey," she replied shyly, getting lost in his soft soothing voice. Then she remembered why she was calling, "one sec," she said into the phone and, after glancing back at a distracted Annabeth, turned on the sink, "change of plans," she said quietly into the phone, her voice hidden by the continuous flow of water, "Can you pick me up in an hour?"

"Yes," Jason's voice sounded unsure.

"Don't worry," Piper said in a pleasant tone, completely dissipating his anxiety, "it'll be fun. I'll explain everything when you get here,"

"Okay," he replied.

"See you then," Piper switched off the sink which had already been running for an unusually long time, "love you,"

"I love you," A fuzzy feeling flooded Piper's body and she blushed faintly whenever she heard those three words, even after being together for a year, "bye." Piper hung up the call and faced Annabeth who had returned to the bathroom to apply her mascara.

Annabeth's phone rang from across the room and Piper glanced at the caller id. She recognized the unnamed number as Percy's. Piper picked up the ringing device and handed it to her with one hand, the other behind her back with her fingers crossed. She hoped he wouldn't say anything about their conversation earlier.

"Hey," Annabeth answered. Piper casually hovered around the area, pretending to have lost her eyelash curler. She couldn't hear Percy but she could concur from Annabeth's short responses and lack of outbursts that he hadn't revealed anything yet, "mhm," Annabeth continued, "5 minutes," she responded, the corner of her mouth tugging into a smile.

Piper loved seeing her friend this way. Annabeth had been sad about Luke for so long. Then she'd drowned herself in work, trying to escape the reality of her situation. She was one of the strongest and most determined people Piper knew. She was meant to be president but had been born into the wrong family. Annabeth was right to fear environmental difficulties, they had held her back her whole life. Piper had watched her struggle for years to overcome them. Annabeth hung up the phone and Piper quickly averted her eyes. Annabeth didn't seem to notice her stare.

"How do I look?" she asked, nervously fluffing her hair a little.

"Great," Piper replied with a wide smile.

"Okay," Annabeth grinned, obviously excited, "I'm off," she sang as she dropped her phone and stack of cards into a brown back, "wish me luck," she took a deep breath, lifting her shoulders as she inhaled.

"You don't need it," Piper replied sweetly, "now get going," she shooed her out the door, needing time to get ready herself, "don't leave your prince waiting!"

"Fine," Annabeth said, slipping on her sandals and rolling her eyes at the word 'prince,' "bye," Annabeth waved before striding down the hallway. Piper shut the door and flattened her back against it, hoping Annabeth wouldn't be too angry with her for going behind her back. She glanced at the hooks next to the door and saw the blue baseball cap that Annabeth absolutely adored.

"Wait!" Piper swung the door open and yelled down the hall. Annabeth, who had reached the large glass doors and was about to exit the building, turned around with a surprised expression.

"What?" she replied with equal modulation, taking a few steps back in her direction.

"Lucky Charm," Piper grinned and waved the hat around. Annabeth laughed and shook her head, disturbing her blonde ringlets. She ran back towards the room and snatched it out of Piper's hands.

"Thanks," she returned the expression. Piper didn't say anything, just nodded. She hoped the friendly reminder of the cap would result in a lesser sentence for her. Annabeth stuffed the hat in her bag and practically skipped out the door.

Annabeth happily walked the path to the gravel divot beside the highway where they'd agreed Percy would pick her up. He was already there waiting in his car by the time she got there. Annabeth smiled widely and strode towards the old car, the gravel crunching under her feet with every step.

She tapped lightly on the passenger window causing him to look up from his phone.

"Hey," she saw him mouth and heard the soft click of the door unlocking. She swung the door open and climbed into the passenger seat, placing her bag neatly on her lap. Annabeth turned to face him and was greeted by a pair of beautiful sea green eyes.

"Hi," she smiled and he leaned across the center console to press a kiss to her lips. She turned her head slightly so he ended up kissing her cheek. She placed one hand on his shoulder and pushed him back rougher than she'd meant to, "I don't kiss on the first date," she teased with a cheeky grin.

Percy pursed his lips, "fine," his eyes traced her lips. Annabeth felt herself blush and tried to hide it.

"So where are we going?" Annabeth asked. She returned her eyes to the road before them, not wanting to give him another opportunity to tempt her.

"I thought you were supposed to make the plans," Percy mocked surprise, "just kidding," he added when he spotted Annabeth's worried look, "I have a few things planned, they're surprises though so I can't tell you," He said as he started up the car and pulled back onto the highway, "then at two were meeting your friends."

"What?" Annabeth snapped her head towards Percy, "what friends?"

"Did you not know about this?" Percy glanced over at her with furrowed brows.

"No," Annabeth shook her head.

"Piper called me this morning to confirm a double date," Percy explained, "she said you knew,"

"No," Annabeth sighed, "I didn't,"

"We don't have to go," Percy responded to her distressed facial expression.

"No," Annabeth shook her head again, letting loose some of the curls hidden behind her ears, "if we don't meet her now she will concoct yet another plan for us to _casually_ run into each other,"

"Annabeth, if a double date bothers you we don't have to go," he tried not to sound hurt. Was she worried he wouldn't be good enough for her friends? Percy made a great first impression on everyone… Well, everyone except Annabeth.

"No, it's really fine" Annabeth reached over the center console and took his large hand in her small one, squeezing it reassuringly, "I hope that didn't interfere with your plans,"

"Not at all," he felt his nerve ending dance where she touched his hand, even his calloused fingertips were jumping with energy, "We have plenty of time until then," he nodded his head towards the digital clock that read, 11:03 am.

 **Sorry, it's kind of a short filler but last chapter was supa long and the bachelor just started and it was a quick update**


	51. Chapter 51

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson**

"Percy will you just tell me where we're going?" Annabeth whined, trying to subtly nudge aside the blindfold currently covering her eyes.

"Annabeth!" Percy snapped playfully, letting her know she'd been caught, "don't look!"

"Percy-" Annabeth pouted, shifting in the leather passenger seat.

"We're almost there," he informed, a smile playing at his lips as he watched her adorably playing with the white fabric of her shorts. He returned his eyes to the road but snaked a hand around the center console and threaded his fingers through hers, stopping the nervous movement. Percy heard Annabeth gasp softly over the low rumbling of the vehicle and felt her fingers tighten around his.

A few minutes later Percy pulled into the parking lot and, after the car came to a complete stop, he pulled her towards him, peppering her face with kisses.

"Percy," she giggled, "I said no kissing,"

"Mh," Percy hummed as he traveled dangerously close to her perfect pink lips, "It's not a romantic kiss," he dragged his tongue down her jaw and bit softly at Annabeth's neck, "it's a 'nice to meet you' friendly kiss,"

"That's-" she lost her words at the heat that coursed through her. Annabeth was glad she was blindfolded so he couldn't see her eyes roll back into her head when he touched her, "cheating," she said through a breathy sigh.

Annabeth felt Percy smile against the column of her throat before pulling back, her hand still in his. "We're here," she could hear his grin.

"Where is here?" Annabeth questioned, "Can I take this off now?" with her freehand Annabeth began tugging down the blindfold.

"No!" Percy was forced to let go of her hand as he lunged forward to hold his hand over her eyes, restricting her view, "keep your eyes closed," he said and Annabeth let out a exasperated exhale, "please?"

"Fine," she grumbled and splayed her own fingers over her eyes.

"Thank you," Percy sang as he reached into the back seat of the car for his sunglasses and beanie. He easily found the prior but, though he rummaged through the seat pocket for a good five minute, was unable to locate the beanie.

"What are you doing?" Annabeth asked in an impatient tone after a few minutes.

"You didn't bring a hat did you?" he retorted tentatively, his hand blindly foraging underneath his seat.

"I did," Annabeth replied slowly, "why?"

"Could I wear it?" his tone made it sound as if he were almost nervous, as if Annabeth could never ever part with her blue baseball cap, "If you don't mind."

"Of course," Annabeth laughed. She kept her eyes jammed shut and moved her leather bag from her lap to his, "it's in there somewhere," she explained at his confused silence.

"Thanks," he combed through the bags contents and found it, pulling it over his messy black hair, "okay," he handed the bag back to her. "Wait here," he said and before she could protest stepped out of the car, closing the door behind him.

"Wait, what?" Annabeth yelled, dropping her hand from her eyes. She gazed at the surrounding space. They were in a very gray, very concrete parking lot. She watched Percy jump over the hood and slide onto her side, swinging the door open.

"I told you not to look," he sounded upset but couldn't get rid of his smile. Annabeth met his expression with an annoyed look.

"I thought you were going to leave me in the car," Annabeth explained as she got out, pulling her bag over her shoulder, "anyway what does it matter?" she waved her arms around her, "were in a parking lot,"

"I know," Percy replied, stepping forward and putting his hand over her eyes once again, "I just don't want anything to ruin the surprise,"

"You promised me the 'best date of my life,'" Annabeth heard him lock his car and let him lead her out into what she was able to discern was the sidewalk from the sound of cars around them and the change in lighting, "I fully expect you to deliver," Percy nuzzled into her neck, pushing back her curls in the process.

"I plan on it," Percy husked and she barely manage to hide her shudder as she imagined his dark smirk, "promise me you'll keep your eyes closed until I tell you to?"

"Mhm," Annabeth nodded.

One hand on the small of her back and the other over her eyes Percy guided her though a tangle of people and towards a pair of wide glass doors, "eyes closed," he reminded Annabeth as his hands fell from her eyes to hold open the door.

Annabeth kept her eyes shut as the door swung open and a swift gust of air conditioned cool washed over. She sniffed the air, trying to decipher their location, as Percy's hand brushed against her lower back, beckoning her forward.

"Wait here," he whispered and as soon as she stopped walking his warmth left her. Annabeth tried not to huff at the loss. She crossed her arms across her chest, perfectly aware of how ridiculous she must look. She'd promised Percy she'd keep her eyes close but that didn't prevent her from listening intently to the conversation around her. She heard dozens of excitedly pitched children's voices all speaking at the same time.

"Dolphins!" she heard someone to her left squeal. Annabeth blocked out other noises and tried to focus on that area of the room.

"No," an older male voice spoke slowly with an annoyed drawl, "dolphins don't have gills, dummy,"

"Jared," a female voice rang out, "don't be mean to your sister,"

"But Mom-" Annabeth felt a hand on her shoulder and jumped slightly, interrupting the whine. She felt a soft warmth flow through her and knew it was Percy.

"Hey," she heard his voice, confirming her concurrence, "are you ready?" Annabeth nodded excitedly and opened her eyes. She let her pupils adjust to the light and observed the room around her. Her eyes scanned the blue and white lobby looking for a clue as to where they were. She spotted several banners advertising the new jellyfish exhibit and turned back to Percy.

"Aquarium?" she guessed.

"Well," he gazed down at her and even through his sunglasses she swore she could make out the green excited gleam of his irises, "since you're constantly impressing me with your knowledge of architecture," he pushed a rogue curl behind her ear, leaning forward slightly, "I thought I'd show you something I was knowledgeable about."

Annabeth nodded in understanding and turned towards the entrance, trying to hide her faint blushing at the compliment. It wasn't that she wasn't intelligent. She knew perfectly well she was smart but it felt good to be admired for it. Luke had only made her feel bad, slightly embarrassed due to her slight obsession with all things architectural.

"Maybe then," Percy brought his lips to her ear, hunching over slightly to rest his chin on her shoulder, "you won't call me a seaweed brain,"

Annabeth laughed lightly, "you'll always be a seaweed brain," she turned around and faced him. He was pouting through a slight frown, it was clear he didn't approve of the nick name. She smiled up at him sweetly, "my seaweed brain."

At her words a wide grin broke out across his face. Annabeth lifted up onto her toes to press her soft lips to his cheek. When she tried to pull away, lowering herself, Percy protested by wrapped his strong arms around her torso, pulling her flush against him. Annabeth giggled and strung her arms around his neck, letting her body bend to the curve of his. They stood there, gazing into each other, noses brushing against each other until Percy finally spoke.

"Does this mean I- um," he was having some difficulty breathing, "get to call you wise girl?"

"I don't see why not," Annabeth shrugged, letting her hands drift down so they were on his smooth chest.

"My wise girl?" he suggested, his eyebrows lifted in question.

Annabeth nodded, taking a long hard look at the gorgeous boy standing in front of her. He smirked down at her, mischievous eyes ablaze, his fingers gripping possessively at her hips. The sight was enough to take her breath away.

Percy bent down and placed one last kiss on the tip of her nose, "let's go see the fish." He whispered eagerly, grabbing at her waist and pulling her towards the ticket teller. Annabeth let herself be dragged, a smile playing at her lips as she observed Percy's giddy childlike happiness.

Within second they were in the seahorse exhibit, it had been first through the doors. Annabeth tilted her head slightly as she peered into the small fish tank. The tiny aquatic animals were clinging to the false seaweed using their tales. Percy was staring into the fish tank directly to her left which held slightly larger orange variety. His eyes were adorably narrowed towards the seahorses and his pointer finger was grazing the glass.

He must have sensed Annabeth watching him for he motioned her over, "look at these guys."

"Who?" Annabeth asked, walking over to him. She leaned her head against his shoulder and looked where his index finger indicated. He was pointing at a pair of seahorses mimicking each other movement side by side.

"Did you know," Percy began, resting his head atop Annabeth's, "that during a seahorse's courtship they do a daily dance?" Annabeth watched the animals thoughtfully, "everyday they gracefully do the boogie."

Annabeth ignored his joke, thoroughly fascinated by the pair dancing in front of her.

"That's how I courted you, if you remember," he whispered, turning his head to gently kiss her hair.

"You took advice from a seahorse?" Annabeth snorted, enjoying the feather light kiss that ignited her senses.

"Yes," Percy answered simply, "and it worked, didn't it?"

"I don't remember much courting if we're being honest," Annabeth teased, her eyes not shifting from the dancing seahorses as they brought their snouts together.

"What are you talking about?" Percy wrapped an arm around her, pulling her into a firmly against the side of his body, "I remember quite a bit of dancing,"

"Not enough," Annabeth uttered, tentatively turning towards him. His eyes were dazzling in the dim blue light of the aquarium as he bent towards her lips. Annabeth stopped him before they brushed against her own, holding a finger up.

"Take me to the jellyfish?" she suggested, needing a quick distraction before she threw herself at him.

"Absolutely," he grinned, his excitement for jellyfish apparently surpassing the disappointment of not kissing her.

They spent the rest of the morning wandering around the enormous aquarium. Percy kept his arms wrapped around Annabeth, not letting her stray far. It was amazing, being able to publicly hold her, openly kiss her, even if she was sticking to the no mouth kisses on the first date nonsense. He took advantage of her pledge and made sure to shroud every open sliver of skin with kisses. The covered parts would have to wait until later.

Annabeth had listened dutifully to Percy's interesting facts on everything aquatic from coral to sharks. She groaned loudly when she saw her phone and read, 12:45 pm, knowing they'd have to leave soon. She nuzzled her head farther into his chest, never wanting to leave the perfect moment.

"What is it?" Percy asked, peering down at her with concern. Annabeth didn't say anything, just held up her phone to show him, "oh," he said when he saw it.

"Guess we should go," Annabeth spoke into his shirt, bunching it up with her hands.

"Guess so," Percy pressed his lips to the top of her head. They both stood, their feet glued to the ground, limbs frozen in position. Neither of them wanted to move but Annabeth knew it would be a 20 minute drive to the restaurant and after taking a deep inhale, let go. As she stepped away his arms loosened on her waist, releasing her.

"Let's go," Annabeth tried to look happy. It wasn't that she wasn't excited for Percy to meet her friends, she really was. But for a second, while they were hidden by the dim lighting and kissing beneath her baseball cap, it seemed she and Percy were a real life couple. Leaving the dark blue tinted rooms seemed to break the fantastic image.

Percy pulled Annabeth close one last time, gently kissing her temple. Hand in hand they walked out of the giant building and back down into the parking lot. Once in the car they were forced to separate, sitting in their designated seats.

The ride was generally silent unless you counted Percy's gps constantly spouting off directions in the loudest voice possible. Annabeth laid her head against the passenger side window, following every tree until it was out of sight. Percy kept one hand on the wheel, the other one played with Annabeth's finger, strumming his thumb delicately across her knuckles.

Annabeth enjoyed the sparks that shot up her arm as the small diner, Shelly's, approached. Annabeth couldn't help but smile at the 50's aura that surrounded the spot. Piper was obviously going for a classic look.

Percy parked and helped Annabeth out of the car despite her teasing on how terrible his parking job was. They were still laughing when they walked into the cute restaurant but all humor left Annabeth when she saw Piper cowering near in a nearby booth, playing nervously with Jason's large fingers.

Percy recognized Piper and walked in the direction. As they neared the other couple stood up to introduce themselves. Percy greeted them cheerfully. He shook Jason's hand and hugged Piper, teasing about how she'd tricked him.

Annabeth ignored Piper, hugging Jason first. As her arms wrapped around him she heard him whisper into her ear, "Go easy on her," he pulled back and gave her a what-can-we-go smile, "it's just the way she is,"

Annabeth rolled her eyes because she knew exactly how Piper was. She wasn't actually angry but she needed Piper to know that she couldn't constantly meddle in her love life even if she did have a certain affinity for it.

Piper greeted Annabeth with a shy smile and Annabeth threw her an annoyed glance. She returned the smile and opened her arms for a hug. Piper practically jumped into them, relieved her friend wasn't angry.

"Don't do it again," Was all Annabeth said. She felt Piper nodded profusely against her shoulder before they both pulled back. Annabeth shifted her gray eyes from her friend and noticed the men were staring at her expectantly.

"Let's sit," Piper suggested brightly, coming to Annabeth's rescue. She pushed Jason back into the booth and waited patiently for Annabeth and Percy to do the same. Percy slid into the booth and Annabeth comfortably followed.

"So," Annabeth picked up the menu with her left hand, her right blindly reaching for Percy hand under the table. She found it and intertwined their fingers. Next to her Percy smirked and she felt a smile equally as mischievous tugging at the corner of her lips, "have you ordered yet?" She asked, her eyes flicking to the couple in front of her.

"No," Jason shook his head but didn't meet her eyes. His usually warm expression was stern and as she followed his gaze she saw his stare was fully consumed by Percy. Annabeth felt Percy shift beside her and squeezed his hand reassuringly.

"What did you guys do this morning?" Piper asked, also noticing her boyfriend's glare.

"Percy took me to an aquarium," Annabeth ignored the pained noise that Jason squeaked when Piper kicked him, "you'd be surprised how much he knows about fish,"

"Well they're not all fish," Percy muttered. Annabeth grinned, unable to help herself.

"So are you guys dating or are you just fucking around with her?" Jason angled his question towards Percy. Percy looked stunned and Annabeth and Piper turned to Jason with angry wide eyes.

"We are… dating," Percy responded.

"Quasi-dating as I like to say," Annabeth laughed nervously, desperately trying to lighten the mood.

"Why do you like Annabeth?" Jason questioned Percy in an accusatory tone, ignoring all others at the table.

"It's hard not to," Percy shrugged. Jason wasn't satisfied with the answer.

"You're done with other girls?" Jason interrogated. Percy shot Annabeth a worried look and nodded, "even if Annabeth doesn't have any money or any connections?"

"Percy doesn't care about that stuff," Annabeth said quickly, hoping to cut her protective friend off. Did everyone have to make things difficult for them?

"Why was he-"

"Hello," the young dark haired waiter said without noticing the fight unfolding before him, "Can I get you guys something to drink?" His question was met with silence so he looked up from his notebook. The waiter had dark brown eyes that curiously scanned the table as he asked, "Are you ready to order?" his warm eyes skipped over Piper whose fingers were affectionately folded into Jason's on the table, lingered on Percy and settled on Annabeth. He didn't see the couples hands as they were under the table and, flashing her a charming smile, added, "Or should I give you another five minutes?"

"I think we're ready," Annabeth said quickly, not allowing the argument to resume, "I'll have the…" Annabeth finger traced the menu as she sped read the options, "love me tender," she bit her lips as she tried not to giggle at the silly name and handed her flimsy menu to the waiter, "just water to drink," she added as her fingers brushed his and their hands met. His eyes were glued to their hands with a suggestive smile. His touch lingered a bit too long for Percy's liking.

Percy wrapped an arm possessively around his girlfriend and pulled her tight to him, leaving half the bench free. Annabeth gasped silently as she fell against his hard body, her hand was pulled back away from the menu. The waiter looked up and saw Percy's smug expression and smiled sheepishly, his eyes remained on his notepad the rest of the encounter.

After they had all ordered the waiter left but Percy's grip around her waist didn't loosen. Jason, previously doubtful, seemed content when he saw the same protectiveness in the way Percy held her.

"So Percy, have you always been interested in the sea?" Piper questioned, trying to make friendly conversation.

"Ever since I discovered it," he answered with a small smile.

"Discovered?" Piper inquired with an eyebrow raised.

"My father," he said tentatively. Annabeth picked up her head, she had still to hear anything about his elusive paternal figure, "he wasn't around much so he enrolled me in swimming classes so he wouldn't have to pay for a nanny and eventually put me on the swim team. At some point I just realized I loved the water and the more and more I learned the more interested I became."

"Mhm," Jason agreed. Annabeth bit her lip, hoping he might elaborate. She heard movement under the table and saw Jason tense up, shooting a glare at Piper. She could only assume she'd kicked him again, "my dad doesn't have much time for me either," he added, keeping his head down.

"Jason's dad is a great business man but kind of a horrible father," Piper filled in the blanks, "He's a exec at a big airline company but unfortunately that doesn't leave him much time to spend with his children."

"Piper," Jason protested at her sharing his troubles with someone he had just met. Percy nodded slowly in seeming understanding and Annabeth filed the reaction away, taking note to ask him about it when they were alone later.

"What did you guys see at the aquarium?" Piper changed the subject at the request of Jason's pleading eyes.

"It was amazing," Annabeth explained eager to fill her friend in on their wonderful morning, even if there were two boys sitting next to them, "we saw clownfish and seahorses and there was this incredible jellyfish exhibit. Black lights were hung around the room and the jellyfish were glowing," She shot a shy look at Piper at the end of her statement trying to convey that there was more to the story that she would reveal to Piper in private. Piper understood the meaning and smiled cheekily, wrongly assuming it was a physical experience she wanted to report.

"Are you wearing Annabeth's hat?" Jason asked, breaking Annabeth and Piper out of their silent discussion.

"Oh," Percy raised a hand and patted the cap on his head, as if he'd forgotten he was wearing the hat which Annabeth knew was absurd because her hat was amazing, "Yes," he answered simply.

"I can't believe she let you wear it," Jason chuckled, shaking his head slowly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Annabeth snapped, defensive.

"It means it took me years of begging before you let me wear it for a few minutes," Jason explained, "You're a bit possessive Annabeth,"

"So what?" Annabeth asked, struggling to cross her arms across her chest with Percy's arms still strung around her waist, "I'm careful with the things I like, what's wrong with that?"

"There's nothing wrong with it," Jason laughed. Annabeth had misunderstood. He only meant that Percy must be trustworthy if he were allowed to wear such a prized possession but as he stared into Annabeth's angry gray eyes he thought he'd better stop talking all together.

"I'm going to use the loo," Piper stood up and beckoned Annabeth to accompany her. Annabeth tried to stand up, rolling her eyes. Piper had been watching too many British romantic comedies and was now referring to things as 'bloody brilliant' and calling the bathroom the 'loo.'

"Where are you going?" Percy asked, his arms not loosening around her.

"With her," Annabeth turned back to his and said, giving him a quick peck on the cheek. Percy allowed his arms to fall but still verbally protested.

"Are you sure?" He questioned. She could hear both confusion and panic in his voice now.

"Try talking about planes. He loves planes," Annabeth leaned forward and whispered into his ear realizing Percy was nervous about being alone with Jason. he still looked worried when she pulled back, "don't worry, you'll be fast friends."

Annabeth stood up and followed Piper who had been tapping her foot impatiently at the private incident. Percy took a deep breath and muttered, "but I hate flying." He faced Jason who was watching him with intent icy eyes.

Annabeth felt bad leaving Percy with Jason but it was bound to happen at one point or another. It would only be a few minutes, Jason couldn't kill him in that time. She had told Percy they'd be 'fast friends' but she seriously doubted it after the way Jason had initially acted.

Annabeth shook her head and passed through the doorway into the bathroom with Piper. Once they were inside Piper didn't even head for a stall, she simply leaned back against a sink and watched Annabeth expectantly.

"What?" Annabeth asked, taking her eyes over Piper's laid back position in a dingy bathroom of all places.

"Tell me what you couldn't say with them around," she nodded her head towards the door they'd entered.

"Oh," Annabeth laughed lightly, "it's not a big deal Piper. It's nothing urgent."

"I know it's not urgent," Piper ran her fingers through her lush brown hair, "I just couldn't wait any longer,"

"I see," Annabeth caught a glance of her unruly curls in the mirror and stepped forward trying to pat them down.

"You're hair looks fine," Piper assured Annabeth, "now spill,"

 **a/n: Uneventful chapter but I think it's important to see Annabeth and Percy happy once in a while.**


	52. Chapter 52

**Disclaimer: Surprise! I don't own Percy Jackson. Shocker, I know.**

"I guess I just wanted to tell you I had a great time," Annabeth shrugged sheepishly, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips, "we went to the aquarium and I had a really lovely time."

"That's all?" Piper pressed, "Are you sure that's all you wanted to tell me about? No mind blowing sex to report?" she asked innocently.

"No!" Annabeth whacked Piper arm playfully, her smile widening, "I am a lady." Piper let out a loud snort. "In fact," Annabeth furrowed her brow, wondering why the statement seemed so outrageous to her friend, "I said no kissing on the first date,"

"But you two have kissed before," Piper reasoned, a confusion playing at her furrowed brow.

"Yes," Annabeth tilted her head, her mind was flooded with pleasant memories, "but this is our first real date and… and I don't know," Annabeth shrugged, "I guess I just want it to be special."

"But have you two…" Piper trailed off, lifting her brows suggestively.

"Yes," she felt her cheeks going warm. Thalia didn't like relationship talk so she wasn't used to discussing the details of her love life.

"And?" Piper pushed, a bright excited smile on her face.

"Mind blowing," Annabeth replied in barely more than a whisper. Luckily the sound traveled easily through the empty bathroom.

Piper didn't reply. She stayed silent and still even though she was jumping with joy on the inside. Who would have thought, Annabeth Chase, honors student from San Francisco, breaking all the rules to be with Percy Jackson, Hollywood teenage heart throb.

"Piper," Annabeth uttered, her hesitant tone easily halting Piper's train of thought just before she was about to start writing out potential headlines featuring the star crossed lovers, "this is really scary."

"What is?" Piper questioned thoughtfully, though she was pretty sure she knew the answer. Annabeth liked to act superior and standoffish but Piper knew it was a mask. She knew her friend was deathly afraid of getting hurt and losing her loved ones like she had before.

"Feeling this way," Annabeth said softly. Piper nodded silently. She knew she couldn't relate. She and Jason's relationship had been perfect from the start, their affection never faltering, "Piper," Annabeth finally raised her eyes to meet Piper's. The gray within the irises was unusually still. Both the sight and the following admission caught Piper by surprise, "I- I think I really _really_ like him. I'm just so happy when I'm with him, it's close to terrifying to try to imagine a future without him."

"Annabeth," Piper reached forward and took the blonde's cold hands in hers, "that's great." She said, trying to focus on her confirmation of feelings rather than the dreary fear that followed.

"For now," Annabeth licked her lips nervously, avoiding the L word. A word that scared her more than anything because it was always taken from her when she needed it most.

"If now is all you have," Piper said after a moment of thought, "then go enjoy it. Outside is a great guy who is probably debating with Jason as we speak. Live in the moment, it might be all you two have." It made Piper sad to say but it brought hope to Annabeth's eyes.

"I've never been especially good at that," Annabeth laughed softly, "but I supposed I could try,"

"Great," Piper squeezed her friends hands comfortingly, "I'm sorry about Jason." She added, trying to lighten the mood.

"No," Annabeth shook her head, prying her hands out of Piper's tight grasp, "his friends did the same to me. I guess it's payback."

"The last time he saw you was at the club when you were having a bit of a mental breakdown," Piper explained, "I've told him otherwise but he's still worried that Percy will screw you over just like Luke did."

"No, Percy is not like that," Annabeth bit her lip to stop from breaking into an embarrassingly wide grin.

"Ready to go?" Piper asked, reaching for the door handle.

"Yeah," Annabeth answered and allowed Piper to guide them back to the table. As they walked she remember her odd encounter, "speaking of Luke," she began and Piper quickly slowed her pace.

"What happened?" the dark haired girl asked, her brows knitted together with concern.

"Nothing bad," Annabeth clarified quickly, "it was just... weird." Piper threw her a lofty nervous grin, like she wasn't sure whether or not to be happy for her. "He basically apologized for being such an asshole and told me I deserved better than Percy." Annabeth explained.

"That _is_ weird." Piper commented as they approached the table.

"What's weird?" Jason inquired, his hand stretching towards Piper. As if spending anytime apart was torture.

"Nothing," Annabeth shook her head slowly, putting the event out of her mind and taking a seat next to Percy. A warm smile crept across her face as she watched her two best friends tangle their fingers together across the table, connected at their hands.

"Are you guys alright?" Piper asked, examining Percy, her hand still playing with Jason's, "no one was stabbed?"

"We got along surprisingly well," Jason informed. Percy wrapped an arm around Annabeth and nodded in confirmation. Piper shot Annabeth an equally surprised and excited smile.

Annabeth's grin widened effortlessly at the warm fuzzy feeling inside. She couldn't help but feel like everything was falling into place. She and Percy were two puzzles pieces that miraculously fit together.

"Turns out Jason loves _Finding Nemo_ ," Percy explained, pulling Annabeth impossible close. His fingers playing with the bare skin of her thigh, tracing soft circles.

"Mhm," Jason agreed, "by far the best pixar film."

"What?" Piper snapped her head to face Jason, her voice was playful but had a cold edge to it. Annabeth raised her eyebrows, surprised by her friend's suddenly serious tone, "I thought we agreed _Monsters Inc_ was the best pixar movie."

"Eh," Jason shrugged, tilting his head thoughtfully, "Percy made me reconsider."

"Really?" Piper's eyes swept over her boyfriend's face and an expression of immense disapproval came over her fine features. Annabeth attempted to stifle a laugh at the absurdness of the argument but it escaped her in a strangled giggle.

Everyone's eyes darted to her, they're heads turning slightly. Annabeth morphed the laugh into a cough and hoped it looked believable. She glanced at Percy, asking just that. He responded, biting back a smile, with a look that made it very clear that Annabeth had not been successful.

"What do you think Annabeth?" Jason asked, gently threading his free fingers - Piper had let them go during her line of questioning - through his girlfriend's soft hair. Annabeth honestly preferred _Monsters Inc_ but knew if she sided with Jason Piper would not let her hear the end of it.

"I prefer _UP_." She shrugged, not wanting to choose a side no matter how small the squabble.

"Of course you do," Piper scoffed, though not unkindly. Annabeth parted her lips to respond when two hands smacked against the window with a loud thud.

Everyone in the booth jumped a foot high at the abrupt interruption. The mysterious figure stepped back from the window and strode determinedly towards the entrance of the diner. Annabeth only saw a short choppy mess of black hair but immediately recognized the individual.

"Thalia," she hissed and heard Jason do the same. She lifted her gaze and met his frantic eyes. Annabeth turned to Percy, scanning over Piper's exasperated pout in the progress.

"What was that?" he chuckled. He had a weird little smile on his face. He was so adorably oblivious to what was about to happen. Annabeth felt bad, knowing the truth would break him from his perfect bubble but she also knew it was necessary.

"I'm sorry," Annabeth bit her lip nervously. She brought her hands up, cupping his slightly stubbled cheeks.

"Why?" his tone was still cheerful but the crease of his forehead deepened with worry.

"I'm sorry," Annabeth repeated and barely had time to press her lips to his cheek before Thalia's voice boomed.

"Well, well, well," the waiter tried to ask her if she wanted a table but she motioned him away with an aggressive wave of her hand, "what do we have here?" She asked, gesturing towards the two couples.

Piper was the first to stand, "Thalia," she greeted with her eyebrows raised with false enthusiasm. She reached forward, hugging the hug hating girl, "I don't remember inviting you."

"Pipes," Thalia laughed, "I believe our dear Annie here invited me."

"No, I didn't," Annabeth mumbled, recognizing her comment would be ignored by the subject to which it pertained. Thalia's icy eyes flicked over Percy, lingering on Annabeth with a mischievous glint and finally traveling across the table to meet Jason's remarkably similar ones.

"Aren't you happy to see me, dear brother?" she questioned calmly, her lips curling in amusement.

Jason let out disgruntled scoff before answering, "I'm afraid not, _dear_ sister," he mocked. While Thalia proceeded to argue her way into a hug Percy leaned over to Annabeth.

"Isn't that your roommate?" he whispered, his soft lips ghosting her ear, drawing a pleasant shiver.

"Mhm," Annabeth's hum was short in response.

Next thing she knew Percy was standing up and introducing himself despite her hisses in protests.

"I know exactly who you are," Thalia responded to his warm welcome with a bemused smile Annabeth knew too well. Thalia held out her arms indicating she awaited a hug.

"Oh," Percy glanced at Annabeth an air of excitement washing over him. He gladly accepted the hug, pleased the introduction was going so well. Annabeth didn't look quite so sure. She shot him a pitiful look which he didn't entirely grasp until he felt a sharp pain in his ass. His face fell and his, now wide, eyes searched Annabeth's for some explanation. She shook her head and her cheeks flushed. Percy couldn't tell if she was holding in a bout of laughter or deeply embarrassed.

"You're right Annie," Thalia called out behind him, "he does have a tight little butt." Percy clenched his teeth, not sure how to react. He couldn't help the brief feeling of pride that forced him to fight a smirk.

The smirk won as he directed his raised brows towards Annabeth and mouthed, _really?_

Annabeth rolled her eyes at him, _I didn't say that_. She informed, hoping her could read her fast moving lips. "Thalia I told you not to call me Annie." She could tell Percy was expecting her to say more but Annabeth found his torture slightly amusing.

She grinned impishly at him. Percy tilted his head to the side, his mouth partially open. His look read, _really? That's all?_

Annabeth laughed silently, thoroughly enjoying his frustration. "Thalia do you mind giving me back my boyfriend."

"Of course Annie," Thalia finally released Percy from her tight grasp, "hug?" she asked as she approached Annabeth, her lips curling into a sly smile. She didn't give Annabeth time to answer before she had pulled her forward and trapped in her constricting embrace.

"So he's your _boyfriend_ now." Thalia teased.

"We both know you hate hugs," Annabeth drawled into her friend's triple pierced ear, "so cut the shit. Why are you here?"

"I wanted to meet him," Thalia informed, her tone remained mirthful but the explanation had an air of realism.

"And now you have," Annabeth faked a smile, "so you can leave."

"I still need to make sure he was good enough for my little Annie." Thalia argued.

"Jason already took care of that," Annabeth hugged her friend tighter, reinforcing her point. She could only imagine how insane they looked to the other, inflexibly hugging while hostily hissing in each other's ears.

"Jason can't concentrate on anything while Piper is around," Thalia protested, "let me stay five minutes."

"Get a room you two!" Piper called out playfully.

The pair ignored her. "Fine," Annabeth responded then added in a menacing tone, "but if you call me Annie one more time I will punch you straight in the boob." She felt Thalia nod against her shoulder and then they both pulled away.

"What's the verdict?" Jason inquired, clearly familiar with his older sister's antics.

"I'm staying," Thalia announced with a triumphant grin.

"For five minutes," Annabeth clarified, wanting to put an end to the madness and continue their previously delightful date. She slid back into the booth and waited for the others to fill in the table. Percy sat next to her, effectively filling the bench and Jason and Piper did the same.

"Where shall I sit?" Thalia wondered out loud, a finger tapping her chin.

"I'll ask the waiter to pull a chair," Annabeth said, waving the young waiter over with two fingers.

"No, no," Thalia scolded, "Annie-" Annabeth shot her a glare, daring her to call her the childish nick name, "-beth," Thalia finished. Annabeth nodded her head in approval and Thalia proceeded, "Just last week I watched a documentary on how service industry is constantly overworked. The waiter is already balancing enough, don't you think?"

"What-" Annabeth began, disregarding the obvious false claim. Thalia would never voluntarily watch a documentary on the unjust service industry. Whenever Annabeth tried to watch anything remotely educational the pick was immediately met with disapproving groans from her action oriented roommate.

"I can just sit here," Thalia cut her off, squeezing in next to Percy.

"Thalia," Annabeth warned as her friend pressed the side of her body against Percy's. Annabeth knew Thalia wasn't a threat to their relationship but it did nothing to subdue the tendril of cold jealousy creeping into her chest.

"Don't worry," Thalia smiled, "no funny business, I promise." Annabeth stared the girl down with gray eyes somehow colder than her own icy ones. The look sent shivers down Thalia's spine and she was worried she might spontaneously combust if Annabeth didn't turn away soon.

Lucky for Thalia she did.

Even luckier, Annabeth was having so much fun she completely forgot about the five minute rule. As a consequence Thalia was allowed to spend the entire meal as the, only slightly awkward, fifth wheel. Annabeth even let her eat a few of her fries.

Annabeth was overjoyed Percy had managed to get along with all her friends. She knew they were trying at times. His arm was still wrapped around her waist, his fingers occasionally playing with her hair, when the waiter handed them the check.

They were forced to argue for half an hour over who was to pay the bill before they finally decided they would just split it evenly. With the debate concluded Thalia excused herself to pay the meter on her car and when she returned lunch had been mysteriously payed for.

"So," Thalia asked as Percy put back on his tinted sunglasses and Piper slipped on her own stylish ones, preparing for the sunny afternoon, "where to?"

"You're going home," Annabeth informed, placing both of her hands on Thalia's strong shoulders and pushing her towards the diner doors.

"You're no fun," Thalia pouted.

"I told you five minutes," Annabeth reminded her, " and it's been over an hour." Annabeth called a quick thanks over her shoulder as she shoved Thalia out the doors, into the windy warm summer air.

"Thalia," Jason voiced, stepping through the doors behind them, "stop whining."

"But-"

"No," Annabeth laughed at her friend's exaggerated frown.

"Fine," Thalia adjusted her black sweatshirt and began to stalk away from the group. Just before turning the corner however, she turned around and strolled back calmly. The mischievous gleam in her eye and her eerily serene demeanor kindled a flame of suspicion within Annabeth. It seemed the dark haired girl was coming straight for her but at the last minute she changed directions and moved towards Percy, gripping his wrists and roughly pulling it before anyone could protest.

"Thalia, no!" Jason argued though she and Percy were already ten feet away.

"It's probably fine," Percy called over his shoulder, no desire to anger Annabeth's admittedly intimidating roommate. Thalia nodded in approval of his dismissal and stopped once they were out of earshot of the rest of their friends.

Annabeth watched nervously as Thalia pulled Percy forward and whispered menacingly into his ear.

"I'm sure he'll be okay," Piper tried to ease her mind, "she's probably just telling him not to hurt you,"

"Mhm," Annabeth replied, not really listening. Her eyes were glued to Percy as his eyes slowly widened and he nodded.

"Thalia's just protective," Piper continued, "she still blames herself for Luke." As Piper finished the Thalia and Percy broke apart. Thalia waved to the larger group and began to make her way to her car while Percy returned to Annabeth.

"What did she say?" Annabeth asked as Percy's strong arm slipped behind her, his hand on the small of her back.

"In short," he leaned close, speaking softly into her ear, "that she'd castrate me if I hurt you."

"Sorry," Annabeth apologized with a chuckle, "she can be a bit much."

"No, no," Percy pressed a kiss to her temple, "it's good to know you have people who love you so much." Annabeth looked up at him, a tentative smile playing at the corner of her lips. Percy stared down at Annabeth, the gray of her eyes lighter than usual and her golden curls swaying slightly in the soft breeze, and knew he gravely needed a distraction if he didn't want to break her no-kissing-on-the-first-date rule.

"So Jason and I found this cute arcade a few blocks away," Piper interrupted, giving Percy the perfect excuse to break eye contact with the blonde beauty below. Jason, previously standing a few feet behind Piper, came forward to string his arm around her shoulders, "you are welcome to come with us."

"That is if you're not too tired of us." Jason joked, smiling warmly at the couple. Annabeth turned her head to look up at Percy, a question written in her eyes. She appreciated the effort he was making to get to know her friends but wasn't sure if the comradery was an act for her sake or how he really felt.

"We'd love to," he said, his eyes darting from Annabeth's to pair in front of him then back to his girlfriend who was smiling sweetly below him.

 **A/N: I'm really sorry this took so long. I had a big debate tournament and finals are nearing.**


	53. Chapter 53

**Disclaimer: I do not Percy Jackson. duh**

 **A/N: I apologize for any mistakes, I'll go back and edit later but I don't have the energy right now.**

The couples casually strolled around the corner, into the arcade. Annabeth herself had never been a fan of video games but vintage arcade games were her exception. She had become deeply interested in the history of the machines after attending a museum exhibit on the history of arcade games.

Annabeth felt Percy's arm wrap loosely around her abdomen, warming her body. She bit her lip in concentration, swerving around the colorful ghosts of Ms. Pacman. She felt Percy's hot breath on her neck and suppressed the butterflies soaring through her stomach, trying to stay attentive to the game.

"Get off," Annabeth wiggled her body enough that he'd be bothered but not enough that it would compromise her playing abilities.

"Grumpy," Percy grumbled playfully into her ear. His lips were inches from her neck, hovering over the golden skin when the clearing of Piper's throat interrupted him.

"Don't," she advised, eyeing his position, "I'll go."

"No," Annabeth protested, her eyes glued to the screen, "if you want to leave you must first admit defeat,"

"Defeat?" Piper repeated back incredulously and Percy maneuvered himself into a more practical place, standing to Annabeth's left instead of behind her.

"Yes," Annabeth nodded, taking her eyes off the game for half a second just in case it was a ploy by Piper to distract her from winning, "defeated at the hands of the great Annabeth Chase."

"This," Piper spoke to Percy, crossing her arms across her chest and nodding towards Annabeth, "is Annabeth's little competition goblin."

"Hm," Percy commented, his eyes shifting to his girlfriend who was furiously working the joystick in a manner that was a tad arousing.

"I've been forced to put up with this goblin for years but now it's your turn," Piper's mischievous smile made Percy worry competitive Annabeth wasn't as cute as she looked.

"Don't be dramatic," Annabeth complained, "just admit defeat."

"Fine," Piper laughed, her eyes scanning the surrounding space for Jason, "I lost and you won." She smiled warmly, blushing involuntarily when she caught his icy eyes across the room, "happy now?"

"Very," replied Annabeth, easily letting go of the arcade game. Her attention elsewhere as the ghosts rapidly caught up with Ms. Pacman, she was enjoying the sweet bliss of winning.

"Be careful," Piper called over her shoulder as she began to weave through the hoards of children, "she's ruthless." Percy leveled an amused look at Annabeth to which she replied by rolling her eyes and taking his large hand in hers, tugging him towards the old Galaga game.

"Play me?" she asked, her expression remained innocent but her eyes gleamed dangerously.

"Sure," Percy nodded, excited to see Annabeth's 'goblin' surface, "ladies first," he nudged her shoulder in the direction of the game.

"No, thanks," Annabeth nudged him back, her tone lazy but Percy knew it was an act. She was much too preoccupied with winning, "you'll need the advantage."

"Some might argue-" Percy began to protest, stepping forward nonetheless.

"Just play," Annabeth cut him off, eagerly pushing a golden token into the coin slot and hitting the one player setting.

"Why-" Percy argued, one hand gripping the joystick and the other pressing frantically at the buttons with his fingers.

"It's easier," she brushed him off, the adrenaline of the match kicking in. She watched as his nimble fingers expertly pressed the buttons, continuingly shifting the joystick to maximize efficiency. Annabeth furrowed her brow, Percy was clearly more experienced than she had previously assumed. She bit her lip, considering the thought of losing. She couldn't bear it.

As Percy easily moved up levels Annabeth worry increased exponentially and she realized she had to do something, anything. She lifted onto her tiptoes and, holding onto Percy's shoulders in order to remain steady, began to sucking along his neck. Annabeth heard him groan and jerk slightly, involuntarily rolling her head to the side to give her better access. She smiled smugly, feeling immensely satisfied with her affect on him and on his game.

"Annabeth," Percy said softly, "you can't preach no kissing on the first date and then cover my neck in hickies." She let her lips slip off his neck, observing the distractions impact on the competition. He primarily regained control but was clearly otherwise preoccupied, his attention on her.

"Why not?" She whispered, nipping at his ear. Annabeth velvet tongue skimmed across his sensitive skin, finding his pulse point and sucking it with the assurance that her actions would leave a mark.

"Annabeth," Percy groaned. It was almost impossible not to lose herself completely in his voice. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw his hold on the controls loosen as she dragged her fingers down his sides, scratching lightly at his abs through his t-shirt, brushing dangerously near his crotch.

"Do you want me?" she asked, tempting him with a flick of her tongue under his jaw.

"Yes," he exhaled sharply through his nose, his hands leaving the game completely as he turned towards her. He moved to sweep her against his body but she stopped him.

"Concede," Annabeth required simply, "agree that I won and you lost."

"What?" Percy stepped backwards, his eyes widening as he took in Annabeth's resolute smile and realized his mistake. He spun around on his heels, grasping frantically for the controls in an effort to save his game but it was too last, he'd already lost.

"Step aside Percy," Annabeth instructed, pushing him aside to put her own token into the machine.

"Annabeth," Percy protested, "that's cheating."

"No," she disagreed, a brow raised to indicate such, "I only used your weakness to my advantage."

"So you're basically William Zabka," Percy crossed his arms across his chest in discord.

"Who?" Annabeth asked as she took the controls in her hands, beginning the game.

"William Zabka," Percy repeated. Annabeth was silent, "from Karate Kid," he clarified for her, the incredulity clear through his tone.

"Oh," Annabeth answered simply, her attention now on the game before her.

"Annabeth," he groaned, wrapping his arms around her torso, mimicking her prior position, "you shouldn't have gotten me so worked up." He stressed his point by pressing his half hard member into her. A wave of heat rushed through her lower abdomen and she tightened her thighs at the feeling. _No_ , her rational side shouted, _do not give into your temptation_.

"Percy," Annabeth whined, her eyes fluttering as his lips attached themselves to her neck, sucking lovely bruises along the sensitive skin, "I'm trying to focus on the game"  
"Focus on me instead," Percy husked into her ear, rubbing himself into her lower back, grazing her ass.

"Percy," Annabeth gasped as his neck curved around hers, roughly attacking her collarbone with his plush lips. She was suddenly very aware that they were surrounded by dozens of screaming children, "no kissing." She managed as she struggled to keep her eyes from rolling back into her head.

"Ann-" Percy began but was abruptly cut off by the sound of one of Annabeth ships blowing up in the game.

"Percy," Annabeth hissed, "you made me lose one of my lives!" Her hands went back to the controls, securing them in a vice grip.

"Wasn't it worth it?" Percy asked, his body still pulled flush against hers.

"No," Annabeth tried to say resolutely but even she could hear the hesitation in her voice.

"C'mon," he whispered, his voice more intoxicating than any liquor, "let the the other kids have a turn," Annabeth let out a mewl that was meant to be in protest but sounded far from it, "I can think of a better way to spend our time."

"But-" Annabeth uttered, losing control of her body. Her fingers clawed halfheartedly at the machine in front of her. Winning brought her a rush of euphoria but then again so did Percy. Annabeth bit the side of her cheek, considering her options. She sighed, unsure how Percy had discovered her weakness.

Annabeth let out one last huff of resignation before she spun around to meet Percy's soft lips. In doing so she let her hair whip him in the face, effectively blinding him for a second. Annabeth laughed at his dazed expression and, after stringing her arms around his neck, backed up into the game, using it as support.

Percy broke out of his hair induced stupor and easily realized what she was doing. He followed her movements with his own, a brilliant grin dancing across his lips. Percy's lips ghosted over hers, keeping a razor thin distance between them. He lowered his hands to her waist, lifting her up so she was perched across the arcade machine.

Annabeth could feel the joystick jabbing into her lower back but it was swiftly pushed to the back of her mind as Percy's lips skirted around hers, pecking splendidly at her jaw. Annabeth giggled softly as his calloused hands pressed gently into her upper thighs, making her ache all over.

"Percy," Annabeth murmured breathlessly, beckoning his lips back to hers. He slowly made his way up, retracing the path of fire he'd initially left. Annabeth tangled her hands in his dark hair, knocking her baseball cap off his head.

Percy smiled, his eyes glittering in the dark light of the arcade, making her heart go wild. He wavered his lips over hers heightening the electricity she swore she could heard buzzing between them. He bent down to brush his lips lightly against her when they were suddenly thrown apart by a booming notification.

"That is really not appropriate," the shrill voice caused Annabeth to roughly shove Percy back. His eyes were wide, his hair looking incredibly tousled as he stared at the tall woman who was loomed over them wearing a expectant glare.

"Excuse me?" Percy tone was entirely unpleasant as he addressed the woman.

"Are you-" The brown haired lady narrowed her eyes in apparent disbelief.

"Sorry," Annabeth quickly stepped in front of him, successfully averting the woman's attention from a very Percy looking Percy, "it won't happen again."

"It better not," the woman replied with an accusatory glance at Percy who was bending down to gather the blue baseball cap, "the kids here are much too young to witness your hormonal indiscretions.

Annabeth could sense Percy's disregard for authority bubbling behind her and promptly responded with an apologetic nod, "Absolutely."

The woman slowly walked into the mess of children and, though she was significantly taller, disappeared from sight.

"You should be more careful," Annabeth chided Percy without turning around to face him, "she could have recognized you."

"I'm not the one who bumped it off," he muttered under his breath. Annabeth hadn't actually heard what he said, just a brief whisper but turned around anyway to confront him with a critical glare.

"Wha-"  
"Hey," Piper's tall figure came into view, Jason following closely behind, "are you guys ready to go?" she asked, a complete disregard to whatever she'd interrupted

Annabeth glanced at Percy, "I think so." She replied easily, taking his hand in hers to assure him she wasn't actually angry.

"Where to?" questioned Percy, hiding slightly behind Annabeth, thinking disgusting thoughts until a certain something died down.

"Piper and I had planned to walk down the strand," Jason informed, "you two are free to join us."

"Why not?" Annabeth responded with a carefree shrug. Without waiting for the other couple Annabeth flew out the front door of the arcade, dragging a pleasantly surprised Percy behind her.

"You're awfully excited," Percy laughed once they were outside, pulling her against his chest and into a warm hug. She immediately accepted the gesture, relishing in his comforting smell; _like the ocean_ she thought.

"I'm always excited around you," Annabeth's murmur waswas muffled by his body. Percy smiled broader, feeling strangely at peace even in the middle of a busy street. They stayed there, in relaxed silence, her head neatly tucked into his chest and his chin perfectly resting on her head, waiting for her friends to meet them.

"C'mon weirdos," Annabeth peeled herself from Percy at Piper's call. She gave her friend a quick wave to indicate they would be close behind, her eyes squinting against the sun on the horizon. Percy didn't say anything, simply held out his hand.

Annabeth took it, threading her fingers through his. Together they strolled leisurely down the sidewalk, enjoying each other's presence without words.

The rest of the afternoon consisted of just that, the two of them nudging each other affectionately, whispering dangerous desires into the other's ears. Occasionally Piper would notice a cute shop and beg them to enter. Jason would send them an apologetic smile which they easily dismissed when they were dragged into store after store. Annabeth liked to act annoyed at the incessant shopping but she really didn't mind. She knew Percy would keep her entertained no matter what they did.

Unfortunately, due to the stupid no-kiss-on-the-first-date rule she had so vigorously enforced, her favorite form of entrainment was no longer a viable option. As much as Annabeth wished to roughly pull Percy's lips to hers, molding their bodies into one, she also refused to go back on her word… no matter how badly she wanted to.

Luckily for her, Percy was quite skilled in distracting her from her desires. He would point out random objects in the shop and make jokes about them, silly jokes that Annabeth was ashamed to had somehow elicited her laughter Once in a while Annabeth would lead Percy into a brief history of snowglobes, surfboards, agates, or whatever had peaked her interest. He would smile to himself but indulge her in the educated discussion.

The sun had just crossed the horizon but it's rays were still dancing in the clouds when Piper excitedly pointed towards a tattoo parlor. Annabeth and Percy shared a weary glanced before leveling one at Jason. To their surprise he looked just as excited as his girlfriend. They watched mystified as he leaned down, whispering feverishly in Piper's ear, both their eyes lit with glee.

"Okay," they both said in unison, turning to face Percy and Annabeth.

"Guys," Annabeth laughed nervously, "you're being really weird right now."

"No, we're not," Piper protested with a pout. Jason ignored the assertion and began to explain their joint attitude.

"Piper and I have been thinking for a while now that it might be cool to get a tattoo," the words spilled out of his mouth at 100 miles a minute, "a joint one, together, kind of professing our love."

"Awesome," Percy voiced.

"That's stupid," Annabeth said at the same time. They both looked at each other, evaluating their contrary statements but Jason wasn't done.

"And we thought it might be cool for you guys to come with us," the blonde boy suggested, "maybe get one yourselves."

"What?" Percy and Annabeth once again spoke together and, though their language matched, their demeanors were entirely conflicting.

"You two should get a tattoo!" Piper exclaimed from next to Jason, her face warped by a smile that reached the ends of her jaw. Annabeth was silent with disbelief, she couldn't believe they were suggesting something so outrageous.

"Do you want to?" Percy asked, keeping his voice low so her friends would hear.

"Are you kidding?" Annabeth hissed, her head whipping around to face him.

"No," his expression remained enthusiastic but there was now a sliver of hurt in the curve of his lips.

"Percy," Annabeth laughed humorlessly, "we're not getting tattoos."  
"Why not?" he questioned, smiling like he was honestly unable to detect any issue with the request.

"Because I don't want to have your name branded on my body like cattle," Annabeth snapped, having difficulty controlling her volume as the subject bordered on something she had no desire to discuss.

"It's not like that," Percy whispered softly, taking her small hands in his and raising his voice to address Jason and Piper, "we'll come in with you guys," he communicated, "no guarantees though."

"Fine," Annabeth huffed even though she had no choice and ripped her hand out of Percy, striding towards the doors of the dark tattoo parlor and swinging them open. Piper and Jason cheerily followed, somehow not phased by the hostility of the prior encounter.

Annabeth's friends were fine but Percy couldn't stop the groan that he vented when he saw them eskimo kiss as they spoke to the attendant. He plopped down on a nearby bench, next to Annabeth who was wearing a irritated look.

"Why don't you want to get a tattoo?" Percy inquired quietly, not turning to look at her scowl, instead opting to watch the disgustingly adorable couple pick out several designs.

"I don't want to be owned Percy," she spit, "you would own me."

"I wouldn't own you," Percy scoffed, "and your name would be on me too."

"Why can't you just respect my decision?" Annabeth asked sharply, crossing her arms across her chest.

"I do respect it," Percy replied, folding his hands into his lap, "I'm simply wondering your reasoning behind it."

"I don't want a tattoo," Annabeth snapped, "is that not a good enough reason for you?" Percy let his head fall to his knees, carding through his messy hair with his fingers.

"It would be," he mumbled under his breath, " if it were the truth."

"Percy," Annabeth snarled, having heard a string of s' leave his lips, "if you have something to say then say it."

"It doesn't sound like the truth," he muttered enthusiastically, his head still in his hands.

"What?" Annabeth barked.

"I don't believe you," Percy picked up his head and yelled. A dozen heads snapped towards them, Percy's loud voice easily catching the attention of the entire room.

"Don't cause a scene." Annabeth seethed through the gritted teeth of her stiff smile.

"I'm not." Percy replied with a much more believable expression of cheer.

"Good," she hissed as their friends returned to them, a tattoo artist following closely behind.

"Look," Piper said excitedly, thrusting forward a piece of paper, oblivious to the couple's roe.

"Mh," Annabeth hummed and her eyes focused on the drawing. It appeared to be a few black specks that upon further investigation formed a constellation.

"It's a constellation," Piper quickly explained, "because Jason and I fell in love while watching the stars." She gazed up at her boyfriend as she spoke, her eyes dazzling with a dozen alternating colors.

"That's sweet," Percy replied convincingly, though Annabeth suspected a sour undertone to his comment.

"We know," Piper said smugly, tilting her head up to plant a mushy kiss on her boyfriend's lips.

"Are you guys going to get anything?" Jason asked, pulling himself away from Piper after a minute of Percy and Annabeth awkwardly watching them make out. Annabeth opened her mouth to speak but Percy beat her to it.

"No," he said simply, "maybe another time." Annabeth saw her friends bright smiles and bit back an unkind remark. Piper cast her eyes towards her friend and Annabeth nodded in response, assuring her everything was okay even if it wasn't.

"I'm going to take these two into the back room," the large tattoo artist standing behind Jason and Piper informed in a low voice, "you guys can wait out here."

Percy and Annabeth both nodded sweetly, sending optimistic smiles as the perfect couple was led away. The minute they were out of sight Annabeth's grin fell, revealing a tight straight line pressing into her lips. Percy on the other hand continued smiling easily, leaning back lazily against the leather bench on which they were seated.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Percy questioned in a gentle whisper, an attempt to soothe the fire he gathered still smoldered within Annabeth.

"No," she said, her voice perfectly even, her eyes straight forward.

"Okay," Percy agreed, expecting to address the issue later when she would hopefully be acting a bit more rationally. Meanwhile he inched his fingers over to where hers were anxiously tapping at her thigh. She froze when they met hers and threw him a sideways glance. He returned the gaze with a shy smile, tightening his grasp around her small fingers.

Percy saw her swallowed roughly, pushing past a lump in her throat and felt her fit her hand into his, holding it just as tightly. He took advantage of her vulnerable position and used her hand to yank her arm towards him. Annabeth let out a squeal of protest that was almost immediately muffled by Percy's hug.

"Percy," Annabeth grumbled, "what are you doing?"  
"Loving you," he laughed. Annabeth felt her heart simultaneously freeze and soar at his words. Her body felt lips as his laugh reverberated through his solid chest. She felt her throat go dry and licked her lips as if that would somehow solve her speechless state.

"You two should really get a tattoo," a strangely baritone yet female voice came from behind Annabeth's shoulders. Due to the constricting hug she was unable to see the figure and as a result of her stun was still unfit to respond.

"We're decided we'll do it another time," Percy laughed, hugging Annabeth even tighter, not bothered by her lack of response.

"But you two are so obviously in love," the woman reasoned, "why not do it now." Percy didn't reply but Annabeth felt him shake his head lightly.

"Percy," Annabeth managed, putting air between them with unsteady hands.

"What's wrong?" he sang down to her and though his tone didn't show concern the furrow of his brows indicated worry.

"I'm going… home," Annabeth decided, struggling with every word.

"What?" Percy put his hands on her shoulders, pushing her away to clearly meet her eyes.

"I'm gonna go," she said very slowly, her heart thumping loudly in her chest.

"Okay," Percy agreed, thoroughly confused by her behavior, "I'll tell Piper and Jason."

"No," Annabeth shook her head hesitantly, biting her bottom lip, "it's fine. You can stay."

"Annabeth," the divot in Percy's forehead deepened, "are you kidding?"

"No," Annabeth uttered in barely more than a whisper.

"I'm coming with you," Percy stated as if there were no other alternative because it his mind there wasn't.

"Fine," Annabeth articulated, "I'll text Piper." Her hand dove into her pocket. She pulled it out and stared down at it intently, desperate to escape Percy's intense gaze.

 **Percy and I are leaving. I'll see you back at the hotel.**

"Done?" Percy asked, a his hovering over the small of her back, wondering whether it was still appropriate to hold her while she was acting so oddly.

"Almost," Annabeth said, feeling his touch behind her and stepping forward away from it, her eyes glued to her cell phone, typing nonsense in a text to Thalia in order to appear busy. Percy strung his arm around her shoulder, pulling her closely to his body as they walked back to the car in silence.

Annabeth felt her heart throbbing painfully in her chest, the ache only heightened by her anxiety. Still, despite the knot twisting her stomach to shreds Percy's touch as strangely calming, comforting her very being. She closed her eyes and leaned into him, letting him guide her forward, enjoying the understanding silence he so easily provided her.

Percy hesitantly released her as they neared his old broken down looking car. Without a word they entered the vehicle on their respectives sides, Percy holding the door open for her as she climbed into the passenger seat.

"So," he said gently, starting the engine, "are you going to explain what just happened?"

Annabeth was deeply tempted to answer with a simple yet firm 'no' but knew he deserved an explanation and she should probably justify her impulse based actions.

"Yes," Annabeth nodded, keeping her eyes on her fingers as they began moving of their own accord, tapping fervently at the dashboard. She licked her lips before speaking, "this is all happening awfully fast."

"I know," Percy replied, shifting his hands around the steering wheel as he smoothly maneuvered them out of the parking lot.

"I'm 17 Percy," Annabeth uttered, "I shouldn't feel this strongly. I shouldn't feel a constant ache when you're away. I shouldn't be thinking about you 24/7. I have college, school, finances and now a new apartment to worry about. There a dozen more important tasks with which I should be concerning myself yet I can't manage to keep you off my mind."

"How could anything be more important than Percy Jackson?" he teased, trying to lighten the mood.

"Long distance relationships don't work," Annabeth continued, ignoring his joke, "someone is always more committed to the relationship. I've seen them time and time again, it always ends one of two ways: either someone cheats or the relationship fizzles."

"There are exceptions. What if-" Percy argued with her one way logic.l

"No," Annabeth affirmed, "there is no _if_ Percy, only _when_."  
"Terribly cynical," Percy mumbled under his breath, signaling to turn onto the main road back to the hotel, "but what does this have to do with getting a tattoo."

"Percy," Annabeth laughed humorlessly, "why would I get a tattoo of a two week old relationship?"

"Because we feel strongly," he shrugged, roughly bearing right, off into the gravel side stretch along the entry road.

"How can you expect me to commit to a tattoo when I can't even commit to our relationship?" Annabeth asked sourly, incredulity laced through her words. Percy pulled the car into park and turned to face her, eager to address the issue at hand.

"I didn't know you weren't _committed_ to our relationship," Percy said coldly, his brows furrowed in apparent anger.

"It-" Annabeth stuttered, realizing the gravity of her claim, "it's not that I'm _not_ committed but I- I'm scared to fully invest myself in a relationship that is bound to be difficult and trying. I'm scared Percy, it's the same issue from day one. I like to be logical but when I'm around you my emotions are thrown into overdrive and they suppress my rational side." Annabeth heard Percy chuckle lightly at her admission and snapped her head to his, her lips pressed into a thin line.

"Don't laugh at me," she flared, a desperate undertone barely audible.

"Annabeth," Percy reached forward, taking her cold cheeks in his warm hands, "I'm scared too. My growing feelings are daunting but I push past the fear nevertheless. I know what we have is worth the constant worry. Love isn't supposed to be all sunshine and rainbows, it's complicated, difficult, painful even but in the end it's worth it. Love is always worth it."

"But we're not in love," Annabeth whispered sadly, her eyes swirling with emotion.

"I love you," Percy gave her a shy smile, leaning forward to kiss her lips softly.

"I-" Annabeth felt his supple lips brush against hers but, for the first time, she found something to distract her from his touch; his words. _I love you_. He'd said it. The four letter word that was always taken from her. The four letter word that made her mom leave. The four letter word that Luke had uttered to her before taking her virginity. The four letter word that had only caused her pain.

Percy seemed to sense her distress as he pulled back before pressing his mouth to hers.

Annabeth could feel her heart beating out of her chest. She could feel the blood rushing through her head, pooling at her ears as she became lightheaded.

"I'm gonna go," she managed, blinking past a dizzy daze.

"Annabeth," Percy frowned. He wore worry so adorably Annabeth was almost tempted to stay… almost, "are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Annabeth answered, her voice an octave higher than the usual. Her hand feeling beside her for the door handle and pushing it open.

"Annabeth," Percy called out as she stumbled out of the automobile. He quickly exited the car and came to her rescue but she slapped his hand away.

"Don't follow me," she instructed, her voice more firm than she expected, "I need some time to… think."

"Anna-"

"Don't" Annabeth leveled a glare Percy's way before walking off, trying to absorb both his words and her reaction. Percy leaned back against his car, watching as she descended into the darkness. She didn't turn back to look at him. He wasn't sure if he would have prepared she did. The pain and confusion were boldly advertised in his expression as she disappeared from sight.

Percy slowly got back in his car, letting his fingers curl around around the steering wheel while he considered her.

 **A/N: Kind of sad ending. I know Annabeth is behaving irrationally but she's just acting out of fear. Everything will be cleared up next chapter. Chapter 54 will be a nice happy smutty chapter.**

 **P.S. I have my english, bio and math finals tomorrow so wish me luck bitches.**


	54. Chapter 54

**A/N: this chapter is 1/4 declarations of love and 3/4 lemon so you have been warned.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson**

Percy was alternating between pacing around his room and laying pitifully on his couch and he replayed their farewell when he heard a loud knock. Percy approached the door and peeked through the peephole to see Annabeth. She hadn't changed since their date and was holding a plastic bag in her hand. Even with his limited view he easily recognized the determination in her eyes.

Percy took a deep breath and stepped back from the door. He swallowed past a lump of emotions that refused to lay dormant and swung the door open.

"Hi," Annabeth managed in barely more than a whisper. She had knocked so confidently but now, as she stared her fear in eye, she felt her brain cowering. Luckily it was her heart that allowed her to move forward.

"What do you want?" Percy asked, sounding tired. He leaned against the door frame, successfully blocking the entrance. Annabeth licked her lips nervously. She knotted her hands behind her back, the bag in her hand swinging slightly behind her.

"I-I'm sorry," she uttered. Percy peered down at her with a defeated expression. He let out a sigh and pushed off the door frame, ushering her into his room. Her eyes flicked around the familiar area, settling on his bed. She strode towards the bedroom, Percy following closely behind.

"Sit?" Annabeth suggested, motioning towards the bed. Percy obliged, leaning comfortable against the bedding. Annabeth took a deep breath and began wringing her hands in front of her.

"You don't want to sit?" Percy questioned and began moving over though there was an abundance of space on either side of the enormous hotel bed.

"No no," Annabeth said quickly, stopping his movement, "I- I practiced this standing."

"Practiced?" Percy chuckled, raising his eyebrows. Annabeth shot him a pointed look.

"Don't laugh at me," she snapped. Percy raised his arms up in surrender then let them fall back, leaning back to balance on his elbows.

"Why are you here, Annabeth?" Percy asked, his voice taking a more somber tone as he remembered the position they were in. Not exactly a happy place.

"I'm here to say what I need to say," Annabeth uttered slowly, avoiding the brief monologue she had prepared.

"So speak," Percy said then fell silent, his intense eyes watching her intently, even when she wasn't looking at him and rather her feet.

"I came here to say I'm sorry," Annabeth voice was quiet, shy almost. She lifted her eyes and the minute second gazes interlocked her mind was wiped clean. She could no longer remember the long drawn out speech she'd rehearsed in the elevator. She could no longer recall the sensible, concise talking points she'd thought up.

Annabeth mind may have forgotten everything but her heart was still fighting forward. It knew something had to be done and so Annabeth began speaking without consulting her brain, something she didn't normally do unless she had at least ten shots in her.

"I'm sorry. In the car you told me you loved me and I got scared, and as much as I'd like to fight it I'm still scared Percy. I don't know when or why I started falling for you. I don't know if it was the first time we met, when you were a total dick to me, or the next time, when you made my friend faint.

"All I know is that I did." Annabeth took a deep breath and continued on her tangent, "I fell for you and the way you make me feel. Because you can always make me smile and because when you look at me my heart does back flips and my belly becomes a butterfly exhibit.

"My whole life up until now has been a sequence of unfortunate events. It's hard to believe I can be this lucky. It's unbelievable to me that I could be in love with a guy I met less than a month ago and even more unbelievable that he might love me back.

"In the car, when you told you loved me I freaked out because it all became real. You love me, Percy. And I love you. And what goes up must come down. I was just scared everything was going to go to shit and look what I did, my own actions accomplished that perfectly." Annabeth chuckled humorlessly.

"You think I don't believe our relationship will last, that the feelings we have for each other aren't permanent but it's the complete opposite. I'm scared because I feel much more for you than is normal for a two week relationship. One day you'll move on but I won't, I'll have your image forever burned into my mind. I couldn't bear the thought of your name branded on my skin too.

"But then I got out of the car and I thought about it. I thought about what Piper has been telling me for weeks now. And I came to a realization: I'm so desperate to hold onto this moment, to us, that I'm losing you in the process.

"Point is I'm sorry," Annabeth smiled for the first time through her speech. Her eyes had wandered back to her shifting feet during her dialogue.

Percy stood up, a small smile coloring his face. He took a few small steps towards Annabeth and pressed a calloused finger under her chin, urging her eyes up, "Say it again" he whispered, tilting his head down towards hers.

"Like the whole speech?" Annabeth asked, looking slightly frightened. She could vaguely remember saying something about him being a dick and her heart doing back flips but not much more.

"No," Percy shook his head but didn't shift his eyes, "the I love you part."

"Oh," she giggled, her lips widening into a giddy smile, "I love you, Seaweed Brain." A wide grin broke out across Percy's face and Annabeth was sure his face would split in two. She had never seen him smile so wide.

"I love you," he managed through the constricting smile, "Wise girl!" Annabeth was about to say the same back but his hands were suddenly at her waist and he was lifting her into the air.

"Ahh," Annabeth let out a half scream, half laugh, as he happily spun her around in circles around him. After two full rotations he put her down, smiling sheepishly.

"Sorry," he let her go and scratched the back of his neck a bit embarrassed, "I got a little carried away."

"I don't care," Annabeth shook her head and threw herself forward, her lips crashing down onto his, her hands clasping securely behind his neck for support. Percy stumbled back, the bed breaking his fall. His arms dashed forward and caught her, circling around her body and holding her tightly to him.

Percy moved his lips against hers and felt warmth filling him. His tongue snaked across her lips, requesting access which she gladly provided.

"I love you," he pried his lips from hers and husked. Annabeth felt his warm grip on the back of her bare thighs and jumped up, wrapping her legs around his waist.

"I love you," she repeated back to him. Her heart was beating so rapidly within her chest she thought it might burst. Percy fell back onto the bed and she easily straddled him. Annabeth felt the fear in her chest quickly surpassed by her expanding heart and imagined this was how the Grinch must have felt after Christmas.

"I love you," Percy lips left hers and traveled down her jaw to just below her ear, sucking delightfully. Annabeth shuddered at the feeling. His hands roamed her body, hungrily pulling her down onto him.

Annabeth ground her hips into his growing erection and felt him further harden against her. He groaned deep in his throat and her hands pulled roughly at the seam of his shirt, hastily tugging it up over his head. Percy growled, nipping lightly at her neck. His hands savagely jerking at her romper.

"What the hell?!" Percy hissed, removing his lips from Annabeth's golden skin to inspect the article of clothing.

"What?" Annabeth asked, breathless. Her fingers still tangled in his thick hair, trying to tow his lips back to hers. Her grip was strong and their lips met feverishly but she was only successful for a minute or two before Percy was once against distracted by the clothing.

"Annabeth," his brows puckered as he stared down at the white romper.

"What Percy?" Annabeth questioned impatiently, trying to ignore how cute he looked with his brows furrowed.

"How do you get this off," his voice was soft and thoughtful as though he were genuinely confused.

"Let me," Annabeth laughed, shimmying off of him. Percy made a small noise of protest but let his large hands fall from her thighs. Annabeth stepped off the bed, smiling shyly.

Percy sat up on his elbows and watched her undo a button behind her neck. His lips fell into a natural expression, the corners quirked gently upwards as they always seemed to be around Annabeth. He watched in awe as the gorgeous girl standing in front of him slid a strap off her slender shoulder, the color of the cloth emphasizing her summer tan.

Annabeth took a deep breath and let go, allowing the entire garment to slid sensually off her body. She took a tentative step towards Percy who was staring at her as if she were a Greek goddess, a lovely pink tinged her cheeks at his expression of admiration.

"Gods you're beautiful," he breathed, adoration clear in his tone. He stood up, closing the space between them by pressing a chaste kiss to her lips. His hands ran up and down the sides of her partially naked body, treasuring every bit of it. Percy broke their kiss, positioning his forehead against hers. He closed his eyes, breathing her in.

"You too," Annabeth responded. Percy chuckled softly, believing it a joke but Annabeth had been serious. She used a finger stroke the stubble along his sharp jaw line and gently trace the soft curve of his silken lips. He really was beautiful.

His eyes fluttered open and Annabeth bit her lip to avoid leaning forward to kiss him. They were only a few millimeters away from each other. She could feel his hot exhales tickle her skin as she stared into his mesmerizing eyes; behind them seem to lay an entire ocean, the never ending waves rolling over each other.

Their lips still not touching, Annabeth lifted onto her tiptoes so she might better gaze into his orbs, her own irises dark with desire. With one hand on the back of his neck and her fingers playing with the dark curls at the nape, Annabeth slowly walked backward towards the bed. She guided Percy's body, keeping it flush against hers, until he was laying over her, his elbows balancing his weight.

"Annabeth," he groaned, kissing her shoulder as her hands blindly reached for his belt. Her head was rolled to the side, allowing him better access as her fingers fiddling with the zipper of his shorts. She finally got them open and wrapped her finger around his waist band, yanking both his bottoms and his boxers down to his knees one swift movement.

"Percy," Annabeth palmed his newly released member, "I need you inside of me." Percy, seemingly ignoring her, continued peppering her body with kisses. "Per-" she was about to repeat when he picked his head up to meet her eyes and she was silenced by the raw emotion behind them.

"I love you," Percy said and there was something different about his words this time. They were softer, shaky almost, utterly sincere. Annabeth felt tears spring to the corner of her eyes at the passion communicated through his tone.

Annabeth nodded, not trusting her voice to speak. Her pupils flitted upwards as she attempted to blink away the hot tears threatening to disturb her vision. She felt Percy's breath move down her neck and shivered when his lips quickly followed.

Percy trailed his kisses down her body, committed every bit of her to memory. His hands gliding down her body, praising it's perfection as she shuddered above him. He reached her hips and whispered, "lift," sensually before biting lightly on her inner thigh.

Annabeth easily followed his instruction and felt him slide the thin strip of satin down her legs and off her body, leaving her completely naked. Any self doubt was subdued by Percy's breath between her legs. He hooked her legs over his shoulder and brushed a soft kiss against her wet lips. Annabeth moaned loudly as the tip of velvet tongue dipped into her. She fisted the sheets tightly, needing something to keep her reigned in reality as he continued his steady and excruciatingly slow assault.

"Percy," she breathed. Annabeth's head fell back against the mattress and a strangled whimper escaped past her gritted teeth. Percy felt his cock twitch painfully at the lovely sound. She involuntarily bucked her hips at his playful lapping and in response Percy placed his fingers on her hip bones, gently pushing her back down into the mattress. With a loud cry of pleasure Annabeth found her release, juicing flowing out of her.

Percy drank up every last bit of her, enjoying the way she writhed in pleasure before him. He slowly rose, positioning himself over once again. Annabeth had barely came down from her high when he plunged into her. She gasped audibly at the sudden feeling of fullness.

Percy pushed into her in long graceful thrusts. He placed a sweet hasty kiss on Annabeth's bruised lips before nuzzling into her neck. Annabeth moved her hips in tandem with Percy's, her eyes shut tightly in order to fully savor the feeling. She felt a familiar tension gradually building in her lower abdomen.

"Fuck," Percy felt himself nearing his end quicker than usual. He suspected it had something to do with the emotional connection that seemed to heighten his every sense right now but wasn't in the right state to think through the theory. Luckily for Percy, despite his performance being brief, he could tell Annabeth was on the edge too.

He began to put more power into his thrusts, pushing himself harder, deeper. The action made Annabeth scream in complete bliss. Her fingernails clawed at his back, digging into his shoulders as her orgasm tore through her with an impressive heat. Percy drove into her one last time before he lost control, the feeling of her pussy clenching sporadically around his shaft too much to handle.

Percy let out a guttural groan and spurted hot ropes of seed into her still pulsating cunt. Annabeth didn't notice, still floating somewhere near cloud nine. Annabeth sighed, her grip on Percy's shoulders loosening slightly as her body relaxed. He hovered over her, his dick still embeded deep inside her, watching her as she came down with half lidded eyes.

Once her breathing had normalized and her heart had stopped beating at 100 bpm she peeked up at him. The minute she saw his loving smile and adoring eyes her heart rate began to rise again.

"Thank you," she whispered, arching her back and curving her body into his as she kissed him softly.

"For what?" Percy asked, his marvelous eyes veiled by his dark lashes.

"Being here," Annabeth mused, "loving me." She didn't know exactly why she'd thanked him. It just felt right in the moment. Maybe she was thanking him for coming into her life at all, for loving her despite her insecurities, for making her truly happy.

"How could I not?" Percy shifted above her, pulling out and rolling beside her onto the enormous bed. Annabeth let out a pitiful whimper when he detached their bodies but then he wrapped an arm around her torso, pulling her body against his and she was content again. She felt him push back her hair and trail kisses down the back of her neck, a silent promise written in every brush of his lips.

"Percy," Annabeth giggled as he reached her back, shivering as he gently traced her spine with the tips of his fingers.

"Are you hungry?" Percy asked out of the blue, removing his lips from her skin and jumping up. Annabeth recognized the ADHD tendency and, as much as she missed Percy's touch, she was incredibly hungry. She hadn't eaten since lunch with Piper and Jason.

"Yes," Annabeth responded, sitting up to see him nod and reach for the phone. He threw a paper menu at her and called the front desk.

"What do you want?" he asked, nudging his head towards the room service menu now splayed out onto the bed. Annabeth picked it up and quickly scanned the titles, pushing past her dyslexia.

"Burger?" she suggested, glancing up at him. He replied with an approving smile and turned his attention back to the phone.

"Hi, yes," he began, "I wanted to order room service to-" as he continued to order Annabeth threw herself back onto the bed, the cold breeze reminded her how naked she was. She wrapped herself in the warm covers and resisted the urge to laugh hysterically. There was so much joy bubbling within her she didn't know what to do, how to react.

She'd never felt like this before and could never imagine feeling this way about anyone else. Annabeth closed her eyes, a silly smile permanently plastered on her lips. She couldn't believe how lucky she was. Maybe all the bad in her life was leading up to this moment. All the horrible events had shaped her so she and Percy would fit perfectly together.

Earlier today she'd exited the car with so many doubts, so many worries all swirling around in her mind. 'I love you,' three little words that she had always feared because the feeling seemed to last a moment before everything went to shit. This felt different. She could picture a future with Percy. There was nothing that could keep them apart. If they could overcome all the obstacles standing in their way they could overcome everything.

The minute the eight syllables had left Percy's lips she'd been filled with dread but to her surprise the more she thought about it the dark feeling faded. She had begun her walk back to her room only to realize there was no where she wanted to be more than with Percy.

She didn't need to think it over, she loved him. She loved him and she wanted him to know just how strong her feelings really were. Annabeth decided the only way to silence his doubts was through a romantic gesture. Unfortunately she knew nothing of romance and so she ran to the nearest convenience store, searching for something, anything to assure him of the depth of her feelings.

Annabeth felt a soft prickling feeling and knew Percy's gaze was on her. Her eyes fluttered open to greet him.

"Hey," Percy's voice was soft and husky, sending shivers through Annabeth's body.

"Hi," Annabeth replied, reaching forward to pull his lips to hers. He eagerly obliged, gently pressing his lips to hers.

"Do you think we have time for another round before room service gets here?" He mumbled into her, flipping them so Annabeth was on top of him, straddling his hips.

"Definitely," Annabeth breathed, rolling her hips against him. She spared him the long detailed explanation of the process by which the room service food was prepared and kissed him instead.

 **A/N: Really really really sorry this took so long but I was on vacation. I know this is probably shit writing but I have tons of homework so I can't read over it.**


	55. Chapter 55

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything**

Annabeth threw her head back and let out a bubbly laugh, a lovely noise that had Percy resisting the urge to pull her into his arms.

"You're lying," she wheezed, laying face down on the bed, "there's no way your mom is that mean."

"I'm not," Percy assured her, leaning forward over the empty plates scattered before them to push a blonde curl behind her ear.

"How'd she even find the tape?" Annabeth asked, incredulity clear in her statement.

"She told me she called the bar and they told her my friend, Rachel, had bought a copy and so she called Rachel who was more than eager to help embarrass me." Annabeth managed to swallowed another fit of giggles at the thought of Percy being utterly humiliated by a video of him drunk karaoking playing at his 18th birthday party.

"Rachel seems nice," Annabeth remarked, remembering briefly meeting her in a frenzy of jealousy at the gala.

"Yeah," Percy agreed easily, "she is."

"Not to ruin the moment," Annabeth bit her lip, wondering whether or not it was a good time to ask about his ex, "but Lola mentioned something about you two dating." Annabeth began to nervously tap her fingers against the covers, suddenly immensely interested in the non existent pattern on the white sheets.

"Jealous?" Percy joked, hoping to lighten the mood. Annabeth didn't say anything but he saw the corner of her mouth tug upwards, "Contrary to what the magazines reported," he explained, "Rachel and I never dated."

"Oh," Annabeth glanced up at him her lips curving involuntarily, feeling incredibly foolish.

"You are jealous!" Percy grinned, seemingly excited by the thought.

"Of course I'm jealous!" Annabeth exclaimed, "I love you, Percy!"

"I know," his grin only widened and he reached forward, a hand cupping the back of her neck and pulling her towards him, "but it's still nice to hear you say it." He closed the distance between their lips in a sweet kiss that was abruptly interrupted by the clattering of the dishes sitting between them.

Annabeth pulled away, unable to wipe the smile off her face (not that she wanted to). She gazed into Percy's eyes and felt her pulse race at the love, longing and lust all bottled into the green of his irises.

"Movie?" he suggested, his hand still behind her neck. Annabeth nodded and he jumped up, cleaning the large bed. He stacked her plate on his and balanced the utensils atop it all. Annabeth felt marginally bad that she wasn't helping him as he carried the remnants of their dinner to the sink but was quite enjoying the view.

Percy and Annabeth's hadn't bothered to change back into their clothes, settling for slipping on their underwear instead. He was only wearing his blue boxers and Annabeth found her eyes straying to the taut wiry muscles of his shoulders as he bent over the sink to scrub the grease off the plates.

Percy peeked back at her and mistook her stare for one of confusion to which he responded, "I know the housekeeping cleans the plates but I feel bad. Before all the... this" he waved an arm around, not able to find the word, "I worked at a diner near my house and I know first hand how difficult it is to get food off a plate once it has hardened."

Annabeth felt a pang in her heart at his admission. Her only reply was a warm smile as she watched him finish. When he was done he sauntered back towards her and grabbed the remote off his beside table, tossing it into Annabeth's lap.

"Pick a movie," he instructed, walking to his dresser to find himself a shirt.

"No," Annabeth whined as he pulled a dreary black shirt over his perfect chest.

"What?" Percy questioned, a cute furrow between his brows, "I thought you wanted to watch a movie." He said, misinterpreting the object of her protest.

"I do," Annabeth tilted her head to the side, biting her bottom lip, "but maybe don't completely cover yourself." She muttered under her breath.

"Excuse me," Percy chuckled, having only heard the second half of her statement.

"Don't put on a shirt," Annabeth mumbled, avoiding eye contact.

"Why?" Percy questioned with a wide smile, clearly catching the entire phrase this time.

Annabeth flicked her eyes up at him. "Are you really gonna make me say it?" she inquired sharply.

"Yes," Percy grinned, relishing in the light blushing that tinted her cheeks.

"Fine," Annabeth straightened up, "you look very sexy with your shirt off, please don't ruin that image." She admitted, maintaining eye contact with him the whole time.

"You think I'm sexy?" Percy teased with a smirk, taking a step towards his girlfriend, pulling off his shirt in the process.

"If you don't know that," Annabeth crawled towards him on all fours, "then you really are a seaweed brain." They reached each other and Percy pressed his curved lips to hers in a soft kiss.

"At least let me put on pants," he pulled back and whispered.

Annabeth sighed dramatically, "if you must." Percy smiled and met her lips one last time before stepping back. The blonde threw herself back against the comfy bed, falling with her arms outstretched into the plush comforter. She stared up at the ceiling, movie selection forgotten as she considered where she had been only a few weeks earlier, mourning her cheating boyfriend.

Annabeth felt something light hit her chest and cast her eyes down at the blue t-shirt that Percy had flung at her. She sat up and saw Percy's dazzling eyes; they were inches from hers. She felt a rush of heat surge through her, as if she had just been doused with hot water.

"I know I said I wouldn't put one on," he explained, running a finger along her jaw, "but you might want to because otherwise I'll be inclined to jump you."

"I wouldn't mind," Annabeth remarked with a flutter of her eyelashes as his fingers traced small circles into her neck.

"Neither would I," he reasoned, "but it's midnight and you have to work tomorrow." Annabeth pouted playfully at the reminder of her early obligations. "Here," Percy took the clothing from it's wrinkled place in her hands and rolled it up, exposing only the arm holes, "I'll help." One hand snaked behind her back, undoing the clasp of her bra in quick time. He leaned down, peppering her mounds with butterfly kisses as he slowly removed the cups.

Annabeth shivered at his movements and drew her hands into tights fists as she resisted the urge to run her fingers through his messy hair. Percy sensually stroked down her side with one hand, the other preparing the shirt.

"Arms up," he uttered, his breath warm against her bare skin.

Annabeth did as he instructed and raised her arms, allowing him to easily slip the garment over her chest. He lifted his head and saw his girlfriend looking incredibly bothered with her lips slightly parted, her breathing harsh and uneven. Percy bent forward to catch her lips in a single languorous kiss.

"Pick a movie," Percy advised before stepping back to put on his pajama pants.

Annabeth swallowed past a lump in her throat and let out a silent giggle at his teasing. She promised she would get him back and took the remote once again, browsing the collection of movies available on demand. She had just narrowed it down to two films when Percy called her name, a question on the edge of his tongue.

"Annabeth."

"Mhm," She answered, flipping between an action movie and a romantic comedy.

"What's in the bag?" he asked, nudging the plastic convenience store bag she had completely forgotten about.

"Oh," Annabeth shrugged sheepishly, feeling slightly embarrassed. She jumped up from the bed and yanked the bag out of Percy's grasp before he could see what was inside.

"What are you hiding, Chase?" Percy narrowed his eyes playfully.

"It's stupid," Annabeth commented quickly, concealing the bag behind her back. Percy swooped an arm around her in an attempt to clutch the mysterious items but was unsuccessful. Another shot proved fruitless so he approached Annabeth with a new strategy.

"Percy," she wheezed as he suddenly leaped forward and his fingers began to savagely attack her sides, coaxing the truth out of her via laughter.

"Tell me," he required, "tell me and I'll stop." Annabeth resisted, her body convulsing beneath his fingers but was eventually forced to give in.

"Fine," she squeaked, "but you have to promise you won't laugh." Percy released her and stepped back, giving her a second to catch her breath. "So I was walking back to my room when I realized I loved you," she revealed, still holding the bag securely behind her, "I felt bad for the way I acted in the car. I wanted to do something special so I ran to the convenience store." Percy nodded along with her story, a slight smile emerging as she adorably rambled on.

"I thought I could get you blue flowers or something," Annabeth continued, "but as it turns out CVS doesn't sell blue flowers. So I had to get creative. The cashier suggested chocolates but that didn't feel special enough. I figured I could get a tattoo and asked the attendant if they sold tattoos. By some miracle he offered to give me a tattoo outback for a hand job I was so delusionally in love with you I almost said yes.

"But then I came to my senses and realized how ridiculous the idea was, no matter how nice the sentiment. They say its the thought that counts and I figured the _thought_ that I was almost willing to risk the chance of dying from a sketchy infection I contracted behind CVS would be worth more."

"It would be a hell of a gravestone though," Percy remarked.

"When the whole tattoo thing didn't pan out I began scrambling down the aisles, desperately searching for something, anything that might prove to you how much I love you," Annabeth continued.

"Awe, Annabeth," Percy chuckled, her speech warming his heart, "you don't ever have to prove yourself to me." He leaned forward to kiss her but she stopped him by pressing a finger to his lips.

"Well," Annabeth ignored his lovely comment to finish her story, "I passed the hair dye section and thought, 'hey that's a permanent enough,' and…" she finally pulled the bag out from behind her back and thrust it towards him.

"Annabeth," Percy smiled, momentarily disregarding the hair dye to address her tale, "I don't need any reassurance that you love me, I know you do." He bent forward and this time Annabeth accepted his kiss. She smiled against his lips, her embarrassment gently washing away.

He ended their kiss and glanced down at the translucent bag in her hands. He reached into the container and pulled out a single box of white hair dye.

"You wanted to dye your whole head white?" Percy cocked an eyebrow at her in question.

"No," Annabeth protested, "I figured we'd only dye a streak or something- wait what?" the color of the hair dye drawing her attention, "white?"

"Indeed," Percy laughed, "didn't you realize?"

"No," Annabeth frowned, taking the box from him and peering at the cover image, "I was in panic mode. I just grabbed the first thing I saw."

"Well," Percy sat back on the bed, "I supposed they tabloids will call me a silver fox. I'll be the only graying seventeen year old in Hollywood... well, whiting I suppose would be a more appropriate term considering the color."

"It's okay, Percy," Annabeth reassured him, "we don't have to do it."

"Are you kidding?" Percy snatched the box from her hands and began to read the instructions on the back, "of course we're doing it."

"Are you sure?" Annabeth questioned with a nervous smile, "You don't think the tabloids will notice do you?"

"What do I care what they think?" Percy grinned, his eyes darting up to meet her weary gaze, "anyway, it's only a streak." Annabeth nodded though Percy noted she was still hesitant. "Do _you_ want to?" he asked, his comment addressing her strange demeanor.

"By all means," hope glittered in her eyes, "but you're not just doing this to humor me? You're doing this because you want to, right?" Although she tried to hide her uncertainty Percy could still detect the tentative undertone

"Annabeth," Percy tenderly cupped her face with his free hand, his thumb gently stroking her cheek bone, "I love you. There's not a doubt in my mind that I want to do this."

"Okay," Annabeth replied, pursing her lips into a cute smile. Percy grinned back at her as he hastily opened the box, excitedly ripping at the cardboard seams. He dumped the contents out onto the bed Annabeth sorted through the little white packets, allowing Percy to read the instructions out loud.

"Mix solution immediately before applying to hair... mhm... ah," his eyes skimmed over information he deemed insignificant, "Don't get mixture in your eyes," he paraphrased, "apply solution to dry hair, wait allotted time and thoroughly rinse hair using provided shampoo." He glanced up at Annabeth, "sounds simple enough," he shrugged.

Annabeth picked up the small packet labeled, _Step 1_ , and shook it so the powder would pool at the bottom. She silently read the instruction on the back and gestured for Percy to follow her into the bathroom. Once they were both situated she poured water into a provided container and subsequently dumped the white powder in, mixing the solution with a small spatula.

Percy loudly opposed the strong smelling concoction, exclaiming, "that smells absolutely foul!" when he returned from retrieving the two towels Annabeth requested.

"It's bleach," Annabeth informed, mildly amused by the funny way his face screwed up as he tried to avoid the chemical wafts of the dying compound. After a few minutes of constant stirring Annabeth decided the hair dye was ready for application. Then they ran into another issue, neither of them knew how to apply hair dye.

"What do they do at the salon?" Percy asked, an expectant expressing crossing his features.

"I don't know," Annabeth set the white dye container down on the bathroom counter to think, "I've never dyed hair."

"I have but they didn't really do anything special, just plastered the mush on my head," Percy considered, missing Annabeth's excited smile.

"You've dyed your hair?" she tried not to laugh, reading forward to brush her fingers along his mess of raven hair. One side of her wanted desperately to make fun of him whereas the other was deeply curious as to how he kept his hair so soft despite having dyed it.

"Yes," Percy scowled, not planning on disclosing that bit of information, "I was blonde for approximately a week before the director of the movie for which I dyed my hair decided it looked horrendous and quickly ordered it be reversed."

"You were blonde?" Annabeth clarified, lowering her hands "are there photos?"

"Don't worry," Percy leaned into her, his breath washing over her cheeks, giving her an odd twinge in her stomach, "I had them destroyed."

"Destroyed?!" Annabeth gasped dramatically, distraught by the mere thought of never witnessing a blonde Percy.

"Of course," Percy assured her teasingly "I couldn't risk a single bad photo damaging my _stellar_ reputation."

"I'm sure," Annabeth quipped playfully then, turning back to the issue at hand, spoke again, "I remember the hair stylists used tinfoil," she recalled, gesturing towards the white paste, "though I'm not sure what for."

"Tin foil," Percy repeated thoughtfully, "I'm sure we could get some at the hotel convenience store."

"No," Annabeth shook her head, "I worked there a few weeks ago," she explained, "and I'm certain they don't carry any tinfoil. I theorize it's the hotel's way of ensuring guests are unable to preserve their food so they have to order the overly expensive room service."

"I'm going to call them," Percy decided and without further discussion proceeded to exit the bathroom and reach for the phone next to the bed.

"Who?" Annabeth questioned, following close behind him.

"Shh," Percy raised a finger to his lips, the black corded phone balanced between his shoulder and his ear, "Guest services."

"Percy," Annabeth hissed, placing a hand on his shoulder and turning his body to face her, "they're not going to bring you tinfoil."

"They'll make an exception," he smirked, "for the great Percy Jackson."

"No," Annabeth rolled her eyes, "even Percy Jackson doesn't have the power to make tinfoil magically appear."

"We'll see," Percy's mouth stretched into a grin and his voice grew slightly louder as he began speaking to the attendant. "Hi," Percy voice was smooth and deep like molasses, "this is Percy Jackson in room 1604… Of course, dear." He chuckled, "did you mention your name?"

"Percy," Annabeth grumbled, folding her arms across her chest, "stop flirting with her."

Percy spun around. "Are you jealous?" he inquired, holding a hand over the lower half of the phone.

"No," Annabeth denied and Percy's grin only widened, "Shut up," she warned, lightly shoving his shoulder back as her a light blush tinted her tan cheeks.

"Yes," Percy said leaving Annabeth confused until his next statement, "This may be a strange request Emily but could you bring me some tinfoil." Annabeth giggled and leaned over Percy, pressing the speakerphone button.

"Tinfoil?" the young female voice on the other end sounded throughout the room, "like the metal paper."

"Yes," Percy answered, speaking into the machine now.

"Um," the girl appeared to be thinking. Annabeth and Percy remained silent, awaiting her reply, and heard a muffled, "do we have tinfoil?"

"No" responded another voice. It was male this time and although it was faint Annabeth still recognized it as her ex boyfriend.

Annabeth ignored Luke's voice and mouthed 'I told you so,' to Percy.

Percy held up a finger, his lips indicating 'just wait.' Annabeth jumped back onto the bed, sinking into the plush comforter as the conversation on the other end continued.

"Are you sure?" Emily checked.

"I supposed we might," Luke offered, sounding annoyed, "why do you ask?"

"A guests is asking for it," she explained.

"Tell him we don't have it," Luke dismissed the request.

"But he's a VIP," Emily pressed.

"Fine," Luke sighed glumly, "I'll find some. What room?"

"Actually," Emily cut in, "I was hoping I would take it."

"Why?" Luke questioned with an accusatory tone. His voice grew louder and Annabeth knew he was leaning towards the girl, closer to the phone, "Who's the VIP?"

"Percy Jackson!" She whispered excitedly.

"Oh," Luke said, "I've actually been assigned especially to Percy Jackson," Annabeth knew he was lying but Emily made no effort to contest his claim, "So I'll be taking it to his room."

"It's room 1604," the girl replied in a defeated tone. There was brief silence on the line following by a short period of shuffling before Emily addressed Percy with a tone so cheery it bordered on painful, "the tinfoil will be delivered shortly."

"Thanks," Percy managed through a smug smile and hung up the phone. Annabeth rolled her eyes again and rushed back into the bathroom to attend to the solution they were instructed to apply 'immediately' after mixing.

"Do you want to watch something? The instructed said to keep in our hair for ten to twenty minutes to give it time to soak in" Annabeth suggested, walking out of the bathroom while stirring the dye, "Also we'll probably be waiting a while for the tinfoil."

"Why not?" Percy said easily, jumping back onto the bed. His hands patted the white covers until he found the remote. He lifted the device and examined the romantic comedy and action movie Annabeth had singled the selection down to.

"We don't have to watch those," she commented quickly.

"No," Percy shook his head, narrowing his eyes as he read over the descriptions, "they're perfect."

"Really?" Annabeth inquired incredulously, " _How to Lose a Guy in 10 days_ and _Fast and Furious_ are 'perfect.'"

"Okay," Percy reasoned, " _Fast and Furious_ is horrible but your first choice is a winner."

"You've seen _How to Lose a Guy in 10 days_? She asked curiously, a brow raised.

"Of course," Percy explained as if it were obvious, "Kate Hudson is super hot and Matthew Mcconaughey is not bad."

Annabeth rolled her eyes but couldn't help a small smile. He played the movie and as the introductory credits flashed across the screen he went around the room, turning off the lights. Annabeth was still at the end of the bed, mixing the conciliation smooth when Percy jumped back into bed.

"C'mon," he laughed, the corner of his eyes crinkling adorably, "leave the dye and come lay with me." He patted the mattress to his right.

"Oh," Annabeth said sheepishly. She returned container in the bathroom so the chemically smell wouldn't bother then and climbed into the enormous bed. Annabeth curled up next to Percy, leaning on his shoulder as she watched the first scenes of the movie. Percy wrapped his other arm across her torso, pulling her even closer so her body was flush to his.

Annabeth revelled in his comforting warmth, her new position allowing her to rest her head back against his muscled chest. She breathed in deeply and turned her head slightly, glancing up at Percy. She lightly traced his stubbled chin with her index finger, noting the way his bright eyes reflected the movie.

"I love you, Percy Jackson" she breathed, the words tickling his neck. The admission escaped her in less than a whisper and she wasn't sure whether or not he'd heard her. Then his eyes flashed down towards her, a silly smile appearing across his face as he bent down to kiss her softly.

It was a gentle kiss full of compassion and understanding and kindness and love. With a mushy smile plastered on her face, she turned back towards the TV, perfectly content to wait all night for their tinfoil delivery.

a/n: sorry this scene is dragging out but I had a vision for it and I'm trying not to stray from that. Ah, its so weird. There are only a few chapter left before the end


	56. Chapter 56

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or HoO**

 **A/N: Sorry, didn't have time or energy to edit this chapter.**

 **I'll read through it later tho**

"Percy," Annabeth hissed through giggled, "stop it!"

"I'm not doing anything," Percy claimed innocently, his fingers ghosting up and down her sides mischievously.

"Per-" Annabeth was cut off by a sharp knock. Both of their heads whipped towards the sound, noting the origin. Annabeth blindly reached for the remote and paused the movie.

"I supposed I should answer that," Percy offered, eyeing Annabeth's lack of appropriate attire.

"I suppose so," She smiled and moved out of the door's line of sight, secretly nervous that her ex boyfriend might notice her. Percy pushed himself off the bed with an exaggerated grunt and padded barefoot across the hardwood floor to the doorway.

"Thank you," Percy said as he swung the door open then went silent, peering curiously at Luke and wondering how he should continue forward. Lucky or perhaps unlucky for Percy, Luke responded almost immediately and he wasn't given an opportunity to think through different scenarios.

"Why do you need tinfoil?" he questioned in a tone that was nowhere near the usual polite reserved for VIP guests.

"I just… wanted it," Percy explained slowly, unsure how much to reveal.

"My apologies," Luke ducked his head, "it's just a very odd request and some of the _other_ employees were curious to why the _great_ Percy Jackson was doing with tinfoil." Annabeth rolled her eyes at his patronizing emphasis.

"I wanted to wrap some food," Percy presented, reaching forward to wrench the tinfoil from Luke's stiff grip.

"Of course," Luke nodded, "but someone of your status can't be expected to perform such a task all on his own."

"I'm sure I'll manage," Percy assured, his hands still unable to acquire the tinfoil.

"Nonsense," Luke struggled to keep his smile, "it's not a matter of whether or not you'll manage but whether or not you _should_ manage."

"I-" Percy began but too late as Luke was already pushing past him and barging into the hotel room.

"Now where is this food you speak of?" Luke inquired, his tone light but his eyes narrowed suspiciously and frantically searching the room for any trace of Annabeth. She squeaked at the intrusion and slipped the covers over her head, attempting to calm her breathing to not give herself away.

"You're overstepping, sir," Percy ran after him, stopping him before he could come any closer to the bed where he knew Annabeth was hiding, "leave the tinfoil and go."

"I'm sorry, _sir_ ," Luke threw the label back at him, watching the slow rise below the bedspread, "I'm just _such_ a big fan that I couldn't resist." Luke smiled sourly and roughly shoved the roll of tinfoil into his hands.

"You can go now," Percy ordered when Luke stood dumbly in his place.

"Yes," Luke swallowed past a spout of anger clawing its way up his throat, "tell Annabeth I'm happy for her." Percy stiffened at her name, "tell her if she's happy then I'm happy. And what I said that night still stands."

"If I see her I will let her know," Percy spoke slowly, ushering Luke out of the room.

"Thank you," Luke screwed his face into what looked like a semi pleasant expression and followed Percy's instructions and left. Percy shut the door behind him and let out a sigh, resting his forehead on the door. He heard the hint of a harsh tone outside but decided to check on Annabeth instead of investigate it.

"He's gone," he announced as he walked back into the bedroom.

"Thank gods," Annabeth let out a sigh of relief.

"You don't think he'll tell your boss do you?" Percy asked cautiously, approaching the bed.

"No," Annabeth bit her lips as she thought. While she did Percy placed the tinfoil on the bedside table and bent forward to cup her cheeks in his hands and bring her eyes up to his, "I talk to him a few days ago and he told me basically the same thing, that he just wanted me to be happy."

"That's good, right?" Percy questioned, his eyes boring into hers.

"Yes," Annabeth nodded vigorously, "it's definitely good. Now," She leaned forward and pressed an excited kiss to Percy's lips, "let's forget all about that and dye our hair." Percy agreed and Annabeth jumped up with a broad smile.

Within precisely nine minutes they had both applied a small amount of, now chunky, hair dye to a small piece of their hair and protected it with a strip of tinfoil. They were laying on the bed and had resumed the movie as they waited for the allotted 15 minutes to pass when Annabeth's timer went off.

"Time to rinse," Annabeth announced brightly and once again paused the movie. When she stood up Percy followed closely behind her only to wrap his arms tightly around her, obstructing her movements. Annabeth walked slowly into the bathroom as he peppered the nape of her neck with kisses. "That's probably dangerous," she remarked, pointing to the toxic dye still soaking into her hair.

"I don't care," Percy shrugged but it appeared he still had some sliver of sanity as he pulled away. He turned on the shower and adjusted the temperature as Annabeth acquired the provided envelopes of shampoo and conditioner.

"Are we showering _together_?" Annabeth inquired curiously, her eyes catching on Percy's taut muscles as he narrowly avoided too-cold water.

"Oh," Percy turned towards her with a lilting smile, "I perform wonderfully in water."

"Percy," Annabeth hissed, a good natured smile peeking past her stern expression, "it's a shower, not a sex arena."

"Why can't it be both?" Percy wondered out loud, finally getting the water just right. He wiped his hand on a nearby towel.

"Because it's dangerous," Annabeth asserted, "I've read at least three articles about couples who have become gravely injured during shower sex."

"Mm," Percy mused, stepping forward and placing his hands on either side of her, effectively caging his girlfriend along the counter, "very interesting articles, Annie. How did you come across them?" He grinned deviously.

Annabeth opened her mouth, trying to decide whether to first address the infuriating nickname or his implication. Percy didn't give her the opportunity, capturing her lips with his. Annabeth hummed in pleasure at the unexpected but entirely welcomed assault.

Percy's hands lowered to her hips, gradually inching their way up her soft skin. Annabeth's arms looped around his shoulders, pulling him into her. Percy fingers expertly slid up the bare skin beneath the oversized t-shirt she was wearing, sending shivers up her spine at the light touch. Soon enough Annabeth became impatient and hastily tugged the clothing over her head, discarding of the cotton shirt on the floor.

Annabeth was momentarily cold but the feeling ceased the second Percy's chest brushed hers, the skin to skin contact sending a wave of heat coursing through her veins. Her own finger tangled traveled up his neck and began to tangle in his hair. It wasn't until she came across an obstruction that she broke the kiss.

"We should probably get in the shower," Annabeth directed, rolling her fingers over the folded up piece of tinfoil hidden in his thick dark hair, "the box specifically instructed 15 minutes."

"Who is the _box_ to tell _us_ what to do?" Percy chuckled huskily, nuzzling into her neck and nipping delightfully at her exposed neck.

"The highly intelligently researchers and educated scientists who developed the coloring formally," Annabeth offered.

"You make a fair point," Percy conceited and pulled back, "though I can't imagine they're _that_ intelligent if they chose to create white of all colors." He noted as he slipped off his pajama pants, "who dyes their hair white, anyway?"

"We do," Annabeth reminded him, struggling to keep her gaze above his waist.

"I meant other than lovesick seaweed brains such as us," Percy clarified as Annabeth slipped off her underwear.

"Hey!" she warned playfully, "don't refer to me by with _your_ astute nickname."

"What's so bad about being a seaweed brain?" Percy questioned, taking her small hands in his and slowly pacing backwards into the shower, "last time I checked I was awesome."

"And humble too," Annabeth teased, "but it is nevertheless unacceptable as I am no seaweed brain. I'm a wise girl." Percy smiled sweetly, his heart doing funny acrobatics in his chest at her tiny act of remembrance, "and if both a seaweed brain and a wise girl buy white hair dye it evens the demographics out and therefore the creators are indeed knowledgeable."

"I'm not sure your logic is completely sound," Percy chuckled, the hot water of the shower falling on the back of his shoulders.

"It doesn't have to be," Annabeth assured him, treading closer to him and shutting the shower door closed behind her, "because I'm in love." Percy wasn't sure how to the two were directly related but then she kissed him and it wiped all thoughts from his mind as the water simultaneously washed the dye out his hair.

* * *

"I really thought it would look less gray," Percy commented as he observed his appearance in the foggy mirror.

"It would have," Annabeth gauged as she brushed stubborn tangles out of her sopping hair. She had a white towel wrapped loosely around her body, the end tucked neatly beneath her armpit, "but I suspect we left the dye sitting around for too long before applying it."

"It's a reasonable theory," Percy nodded, slicking back his wet hair and coming up behind Annabeth, his presence making it very very difficult for her to continue concentrating her task, "wanna hear mine?"  
"Enlighten me," Annabeth gently put down the brush, gazing at her boyfriend through the mirror.

"I think we have both discovered a recessive allele that only appears when you declare your love in ridiculous ways. One that binds us together forever." Annabeth watched him curiously, a question glinting in her eyes and the arch of her brow as she actively ironing the squirming of her heart at the word 'forever.' "I really like biology," he explained with a shrug.

"I didn't know tha-" Annabeth began to say, running a delicate finger along his sharp jaw line when Percy's alarm went off.

"Shit," he hissed, his eyes darting to his phone. Annabeth observed the tense clutch of his jaw beneath her finger and furrowed her brow confusion.

"Is something wrong?" Annabeth asked, glancing at the time displayed as he silenced the phone. It was two in the morning, why did he have an alarm for two in the morning? A wave of deja vu flashed over Annabeth as she recalled their first time together.

"Nothing," Percy shook his head, bringing Annabeth's head back to his smooth chest, suppressing a shudder at the cold surface.

"Percy-" Annabeth argued, not wanting to drop the subject when his phone rang.

"Shit," Percy repeated, more urgency in his words this time, and Annabeth felt his chest heaving behind her.

"Do you need to get that?" she asked, her gaze glued on his panicked expression.

"Yeah," he breathed and sprung forward, pressing desperately at the accept call button as Annabeth was pushed away from him. She looked up a little dazed and saw him pacing anxiously around the room. "Mom?" he voice quivered as he answered the phone.

Annabeth heart sunk into her stomach. She stayed silent, watching his reflection breath laboriously, not wanting to interrupt his conversation.

"Yeah," Percy whispered into the phone, "what happened?... mom… I can be there… are you sure?... I'll call Grover tonight… I'll take care of it… don't worry, everything is gonna be okay… I love you." He hung up the phone and slumped back against the counter, his head between his hands.

"Percy," Annabeth whispered, tentatively stepping towards him. He didn't answer. "Are you okay?" She lifted his chin to meet his gaze and her breath caught in her throat when she saw it was clouded with tears.

"It's my fault," he told her, his wide eyes desperately seeking hers. Annabeth reached forward and wrapped her arms around him, holding him tightly to her body. She could feel the heat radiating off his bare skin as it was pushed firmly to hers.

"What?" Annabeth questioned as he tucked his face into the curve of her neck, "what's your fault?" She felt drops of warm wetness delicately fall from him and land on her skin.

"My mom," he shuddered and Annabeth tensed, remembering what he'd revealed long ago about his abusive stepfather.

"Percy," Annabeth stroked his hair tenderly, trying to calm him down. She felt him take a deep breath then pull away from her. Annabeth noted the red rings around his eyes and realized he'd been crying. "Let's sit," she suggested, trying to relieve any stress he was feeling.

Percy remained silent but trudged out of the bathroom to sit on the bed in a defeated position. Annabeth crawled into the mass of covers behind him and forced him to lay back against the pillows before voicing her question again.

"What's wrong?"

"My mom," Percy began to explain, his eyes glazed over as he stared at absolutely nothing, "I didn't want to leave her alone with Gabe. As a precautionary measure I asked her to call me if _anything_ went wrong. We set an hour, 2 am west coast time, 5 am in New York. She promised she'd call me at that time if _anything_ went wrong." Annabeth nodded as he told her the heart wrenching system, trying to remain sensible despite the pain she felt for him, "I set an alarm at 2 am so I'd be on alert if she ever called. Whenever I'd bring girls home I'd step into the bathroom for a full hour, just waiting for the hour to pass so I could be reassure myself that she was fine. She told me if _anything_ happened she'd call me-"

Annabeth watched Percy's blue green eyes swimming in pain and placed a warm hand on his chest, just above his heart, gently appeasing its rapid rhythm as best she could. She could tell from his repetitive dialogue he was panicking and wanted nothing more than to help him but knew she could not achieve said goal without understanding the issue to begin with.

"Percy," Annabeth interrupted in a soft soothing voice, "what happened tonight?" She took hold of his chin and angled his face towards her, meeting his sunken gaze with her own,"Was that your mom on the phone?"

"Yes," Percy answered, sliding Annabeth's hand up to cup his cheek, "she told me he hit her. He _hit_ her, Annabeth! She told me they've been constantly fighting for the last few weeks and she'd been trying to deal with it on her own but yesterday he hit her, _really_ hit her." Percy swallowed past a lump in his throat, struggling with the wretched information, "She says last night he kicked her and threatened to kill her. She asked me to find her a place to stay. She insisted she is fine and wants to handle the situation on her own."

"I'm so sorry, Percy," Annabeth shook her head, wondering how someone could be so cruel. "Your mom must be very strong to have lived with a man like that."

"She is strong," Percy agreed but the anxiety in his voice made it sound like a hazard rather than a compliment, "and that's the problem! She thinks she needs to handle this all on her own but I want to be there for her! I _need_ to be there for her!"

"Well then go," Annabeth insisted, "fly to New York and help her divorce his ass."

"I tried but she told me no-" Percy argued.

"She just said that because she doesn't want to complicate your life and cause you trouble," she explained, "but what she doesn't realize it that it will cause your more pain to stay here and do nothing. You should take a break from your movie, even if it's just a week and go see her. Claim it's a vacation if she asks."

"Are you sure?" Percy asked, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. Annabeth didn't understand how he hadn't considered this before. It seemed so simple to her.

"Of course I'm sure, Seaweed Brain," she ruffled his hair lovingly, "you should do whatever makes you happiest no matter what."

"I'd have to leave you alone here for a few days," Percy smirked slightly, his old self coming back as hope shone in his eyes at the new plan, "are you sure you'll survive without me?"

"I've lived through worse," Annabeth assured, happy Percy was feeling better.

"Let me make a few calls," Percy said, pushing up from the mattress, "you stay here and finish the movie."

Annabeth nodded and passed him his phone from where he'd let it fall from his hands into the layers bedspread. She snuggled into the pillow and reached for the remote as Percy began to dial a number.

"Annabeth," Percy called quietly. Annabeth turned towards his voice just as he pressed a soft kiss to her lips, "thank you." He whispered graciously then retreated, walking out of the room with the phone to his ear.

"You're welcome," Annabeth sighed as she resumed the movie.

 **A/N: sorry this took so long. It was initially supposed to be longer but I've just got so much going on right now. I promise I'll try to keep posting once a week but the updates might lag a bit.**

 **Also let me know if you guys want more lemons because at I don't want the chapters to be overly repetitive and although _I_ love pointless lemons they're not really moving the plot anywhere so unless you guys specifically ask for them there will only be a select few more throughout the end of the story. **

**(they'll be like 2 more probably)**


	57. Chapter 57

a/n: yo, sorry for the long wait. The chapter is a little longer than usual and it is most likely ridded with error. I'll go back and read through it later but right now I gots to get to sleep so,

ciao!

When Annabeth's alarm went off the next morning she could barely muster the energy to roll herself out of Percy's enormous bed. It also didn't help that Percy had his arms wrapped protectively around her, curving around her body. He was absolutely intoxicating, she wasn't sure what exactly it was, his warmth? His smell? Or perhaps his very presence that she found completely addicting.

"Percy," Annabeth whispered after silencing her alarm, "I have to go."

"Are you sure?" Percy groaned, tightening his grip around her. Annabeth felt her eyelids flutter shut and her body drift back into a fuzzy place but she quickly scolded herself, fixing the situation.

"Yes," Annabeth assured in a soft playful voice, "anyway, you have a flight to catch in a few hours."

"So?" Percy asked, finally letting go of Annabeth and allowing her to sit up.

"So you should arrive to the airport few hours early," Annabeth explained, stretching and half heartedly stepping out of bed, "besides, the drive itself is bound to take over an hour."

"You're right," Percy nodded with his eyes shut, still holding on tight to a pillow that had replaced Annabeth on the bed, "as always."

"Percy," Annabeth called as her eyes scoured the room, looking for her romper, "where are my clothes."

"Um," Percy swallowed a mouthful of morning breath and sat up, his eyes joining her search, "I'm not sure."

"Aha!" Annabeth yelled triumphantly as she spotted the white clothing hiding beneath a pile of towels near the entrance of the bathroom, "found it!"

"It's wet," Percy observed, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Yeah," Annabeth frowned then glanced at Percy uncertainly, "can I borrow this?" She asked, gesturing to the t-shirt she'd slept in.

"Of course," Percy laughed, his heart warmed by the thought of her wearing it around the house, her house, his house, he wasn't sure at this point, "I think that means you owe me three shirts." Percy counted mentally and looked to her for confirmation.

"Three?" Annabeth repeated back dubiously, "surely it's less than three."

"Yeah," Percy stood up and began pacing aimlessly around the room, "that first night-" yawn, "-and now and-" yawn, "... oh," he thought for a moment then presented a dopey smile, "maybe it was just two."

"I'll return them to you soon," Annabeth said, her heart swellings at the sight of his lopsided smile, "you're cute when you're tired."

"Handsome," Percy mumbled but didn't have the energy to repeat it when she asked him to clarify.

"I think I have everything," Annabeth announced, moving towards the doors.

"Wait," Percy stopped her and pulled her into a warm hug which Annabeth easily accepted, "where are you working today?"

"Emporium until one o'clock." Annabeth informed him, "why?"

"I'll try to say bye before I leave," he explained, his words slightly muffled by her hair.

"Percy," Annabeth laughed after the hug had already lasted half a minute, "I really do have to go."

"I know," he smiled, releasing her and guiding her to the door, "I'll see you." Annabeth nodded and grinned as they neared the exit. She leaned in and pressed a chaste kiss to to his lips before peeking out into the hall and bounding into the empty corridor in an attempt not to be caught leaving his room.

Percy watched her slowly shrinking figure from his doorway and grinned as she tiptoed down the passage, checking slyly around corner before advancing. Once she was out of sight Percy retreated back to his room, thinking of the more difficult issues he'd managed to escape while she'd been around. He shut the door and flattened his back against it, running his fingers through his hair as he considered how to approach the situation.

* * *

Annabeth managed to get in and out of her room in barely ten minutes. As a result of her rapid dressing she was able to leisurely walk to the shift. She knew she would miss Percy while he traveled to New York but she also knew the trip was necessary not only for his mother but for his own conscious.

Annabeth was almost skipping when she rounded the last corner. A smile was spread wide across her face and she could barely hide her joy. She blindly felt around the back of her head, fingering the soft gray curl hidden behind an ocean of blonde locks. She knew, even in the moment, that dying her hair was a stupid impulsive decision but she couldn't find it in herself to care.

Annabeth finally arrived at her shift exactly on time. She was pleased to see Piper working which meant she had woken up and made it to work without Annabeth's help. Piper shot her a small wave and knowing smile. Annabeth realized Piper hadn't even texted her to ask whether or not she was coming home last night, she flushed at her friend's obvious assumption that was, again, obviously, true.

"Hey," Annabeth greeted, "where's Shirley?"

"In the back," the sly smile never left Piper's lips as she responded, "but first, what happened last night."

"A lot," Annabeth answered vaguely and Piper rolled her eyes.

"Knowing you," Piper teased, "I bet the story is long and complicated."

"It is actually," she considered, "I'm going to go check in."

"Fine," Piper let her go, "but be prepared to finish this conversation later."

"Of course," Annabeth laughed, still unable to wipe the giddy expression of her face. She spoke to Shirley shortly after who was surprisingly cordial and truthfully as close to pleasant as she had even come and Annabeth suspected ever would. She was put on duty as cashier and spent most of her morning behind the small desk, ringing up sunscreen and t-shirts among other products.

It seemed Annabeth's morning was moving perfectly, apart from having to leave Percy's bed and work in the first place that is. Today there was an abnormally larger crowd than usual in the store and she was busier than an ordinary day. Whereas on any other day this would have bothered her today Annabeth was not irritated or annoyed, in fact she was astoundingly happy and warm to all the customers.

Around 10:30 Percy entered the emporium and bought a bottle of sunscreen in order to reach her. He could do nothing more than smile impishly and work, not so subtle, innuendos into the conversation as she rung him up and, to the people behind him's dismay, did it extremely slowly.

"-I don't believe we do," Annabeth smirked at his endless questions purely purposed to spend an extra second with her.

"Are you absolutely sure?" Percy pressed, lingering an extra second when she handed him the plastic bag that contained his goods.

"100%, sir," Annabeth responded, her ecstatic grin more vibrant than ever.

"Thank you anyway," Percy finished and back away from the register, eyes on her until the last second. While she attended to the next customer he backed into a rack of t-shirts and gestured for her to sneak away with a swift nudge of his head.

 _Five minutes_ , Annabeth mouthed across the room when the customer wasn't paying attention. Percy nodded and began to browse the shop while he waited. As he did he ran into Piper who was working restocking blue Hotel Escape t-shirts in the squares cubies that littered the wall.

"Hi Percy," she addressed and set down the cardboard box of shirts to talk to him.

"Hey Piper," he replied brightly. Piper peered at him for a second, noting the extra pep in his step.

"How was your night with Annabeth?" Piper asked innocently, "I mean she already told me all about it," she lied, "but I wanted to hear your side of the tale."  
"It was great," Percy nodded, his eyes shooting left as he thought back to the evening occurrences before his mother had called, "and I can't believe after what happened last night I'm leaving-"

"You're leaving?!" Piper exclaimed, her eyes growing wide.

"Yes… did Annabeth not tell you?"  
"No, no," Piper fixed, "she did but I had no idea it was so soon."

"My flight is at two so I'm just saying bye to Annabeth before I head out," he explained.

"I'm glad you both had a good time yesterday," Piper expression softened as she thought back to their double date, "you're good for her."

Percy shook his head and chuckled, "honestly, sometimes I think she's too good for me." He admitted and before Piper could reply, Annabeth had creeped up behind them.

"Hey, guys," Annabeth entered from behind Percy. They both responded with a slight nod and a broad smile, though Piper thought Percy's probably outshone hers. "Piper," Annabeth reprimanded, "you weren't giving him a hard time, were you?"

"No," Percy filled before Piper could, wrapping a cautious arm around Annabeth, "she was being perfectly pleasant."

"I'll give you two a minute," Piper said, backing away from them and resuming her job, "maybe five."

Annabeth nodded good naturedly and, after glancing around the vanity for her supervisor, pulled Percy into the nearest supply closet. He enthusiastically took the opportunity to push her up against a shelf and crash his lips onto hers.

Annabeth arms rose to loop around his neck and she pulled him against her. Several boxes were jabbing into her lower back but she couldn't care less and when Percy lips down to her neck, peppering her skin with lingering kisses, the notion of caring went out the window.

Percy fingers started at her hips and began to move up and down her body, one settling comfortably in her midsection the other coming up to tangle his fingers in her hair. He ran his tongue behind her ear, sucking delicately on her pulse point.

Annabeth head lulled back as he continued to smother the wide expanse before tilting down to connect their lips again. Percy was the first to pull away. He balanced his forehead against hers and she could feel his hot staggered breaths against her skin.

"What was that for?" she asked, eyes still closed.

"For being a wonderful girlfriend," he replied simply, then added, "and because I'm not sure how long it'll be until I can do it again."

"Are you leaving after this?" she inquired.

"Yes," Percy nodded against her, "I have a two o'clock flight."

"I'll miss you," Annabeth told him then kissed him gently.

"I wish I didn't have to go," Percy whispered, his hand at her waist tightening his grip as if he could somehow hold onto her.

"I know," Annabeth sighed softly, "me too but you have to take care of your mom."

"I know," Percy repeated back to her and pressed his lips to hers.

"Don't worry," Annabeth smiled when she finally opened her eyes as saw his own worried ones, "I'll be just fine without you."

Percy was quiet, just staring at her, memorizing every inch of her. Annabeth grew quickly shy under his intense gaze and began to shift around uncomfortably. But he kissed her and silenced her rambling brain.

"I have to go back to work," she said after a minute or so of silence.

"Go ahead," Percy offered, letting her pass him, "I'll see you soon."

"I'll miss you," Annabeth drew him back in for one last kiss before exiting the small room. "I love you," she called over her shoulder as she left the room.

"I love you too," she heard Percy's soft voice behind her and smiled softly, hoping the lovely words could get her through the week.

The rest of Annabeth's morning was uneventful. Percy's departure had put a serious bummer on her mood and the rest of her customers didn't receive nearly the enthusiastic service she'd offered earlier. When her shift finished she found Piper waiting for her outside the shop.

"So," she started, walking alongside her as they made their way back to the room, "how was your night?"

"It was great," Annabeth dreamily.

"That's exactly what Percy said," Piper chuckled.

"You and Percy talked about us?" Annabeth asked with a slight frown.

"Yes," Piper confessed, "but I may have tricked him into it."

"Of course," Annabeth laughed, her head tilting back as the sound escaped her.

"You seem awfully happy despite your boyfriend leaving this morning," Piper watched her curiously, "I repeat, what happened last night?"

"Well," Annabeth began, "when Percy and I left you guys we were in a small fight."

"About what?" Piper inquired.

"I didn't want to get a tattoo," Annabeth waved it off, a gesture to indicate the insignificance of the discussion, "he did. It doesn't matter. We were driving back and he told me he loved me."

"Awe!" Piper squealed, breaking Annabeth out of her story induced trance, "what did you say?" She asked excitedly.

"I told him I needed time to think," Annabeth explained diplomatically, "and I left."

"Oh," Piper pursed her lips. She had not been expecting the story to go there but she probably should have expected it knowing Annabeth.

"Yeah," Annabeth nodded, "so I was walking back and I realized I didn't want to go back to our room, I wanted to be with him. And I realized I loved him but I was too scared to say it."

"Okay," Piper bit her lip, trying to hide her excitement.

"So I, for some ridiculous reason, figured I need a grand romantic gesture for him to forgive me for being so rash."

"So what did you do?" Piper pressed, eager to hear the rest.

"I walked to the pharmacy across the street hoping to get blue flower but turns out no one sells blue flowers," Piper nodded, choosing to ignore the weird detail, "and I thought about getting a tattoo. In the end I bought some hair dye."

"Hair dye?" Piper repeated back to her, "why?"

"I don't know," Annabeth waved her hands around wildly, trying to mimic her mental state at the time, "I thought it would be cute for both of us to dye a streak or something."

"I suppose it's the thought that counts," Piper remarked reportedly, "go on."

"So I got to his room and I told him I loved him and then we kissed and..."

"You had sex?" Piper guessed bluntly.

"Yes," Annabeth blushed slightly at the admission, "and then we dyed our hair and then his mom called and..." Annabeth paused, unsure how much she should reveal, "she's going through some stuff so he had to go visit her."

"Where?" Piper wondered out loud.

"New York," Annabeth informed, turning to face her for her reaction to the story.

"I'm happy for you," Piper wrapped an arm around Annabeth shoulder and pulled her against her, hugging her friend comfortingly, "you look really really happy and, well, you're in love!"

"Yeah," Annabeth smiled shyly. If someone had told her a few weeks ago that she would soon be in love with a movie star in and that he would love her back she would have called them crazy, ludicrous, insane.

"How long will he be gone?" Piper asked as they neared their room.

"I'm not sure," Annabeth shrugged, trying to keep the mood light. She reached into her back pocket and took out her building key to unlock the door, "neither of us are."

"I'm sure it won't be long," Piper smiled reassuringly. Annabeth nodded and held the door open for her friend to pass through. Annabeth nodded as Piper unlocked the door to their room. She hoped all her wishes weren't for nothing.

* * *

An hour and a half later Annabeth was walking to the Lux Lounge, chatting with Piper along the way. Piper showed her the tattoo she'd got on her hip bone and explained the significance of the constellation. When the time came they split up and went opposite ways, Annabeth towards the lounge and Piper towards the bar.

"Hello," Annabeth sang as she dropped her bag off behind the bar, "how are you?"

"I'm good," Jorge answered, busy cleaning glasses, "you?"

"I'm great," Annabeth grinned, "where's Hannah?"

"Backstage," Jorge nodded his head in the direction, observing her through slanted eyes.

"Thanks," Annabeth replied and began to head towards the general area. Once she crossed the curtain she found a mess waiting to be solved.

"Annabeth!" Hannah exhaled, a sigh half of desperation, half of relief, "there you are!"  
"What is it?" Annabeth questioned, watching chaos unfold among the circuit boards.

"We had four people cancel on us last minute," Hannah explained rapidly in one long stream, "we need people to work backstage."

"Okay," Annabeth nodded, her eyes skittering across the room and analyzing the damage, "what can I do?"

"Here," she pulled a folded piece of paper out of her pocket, "is a list of all all the employees who are able to handle the position. I need you to find them and find out if they are available or can be replaced."

"When do you need this done by?" Annabeth asked, pocketing the list without reading it.

"Within the hour," Hannah said quickly, turning back to held the others, "they'll need 30 minutes or so to get familiarized with the equipment."

"I'll try my best," Annabeth assured her, "I'll get going right now."  
"Thank you, Annabeth!" Hannah called over her shoulder, "I knew I could count on you."

Annabeth ran back to the bar and picked up her bag with her phone before leaving the lounge in search of replacements. She took out the list and examined the names.

* * *

 _Jamie Riley_

 _Jack Peralta_

 _Samantha Sherside_

 _Luke Castellan_

 _Leo Valdez_

 _Valeria Field_

* * *

Annabeth pursed her lips nervously at her ex boyfriend's name. She hadn't spoken to him since since he'd told her Percy wasn't good enough for her, not including last night, of course. The name Leo Valdez sounded vaguely familiar but she couldn't quite place it. Apart from those two the names were completely new to her.

Annabeth, thinking logically, visited the scheduling office hoping to get information on the current locations of the individuals. After a bit of arguing she left the employee offices with everyone's locations; Jamie on his free day, Jack was waiting at the Sandbar, Samantha was on towel shack duty, Luke was managing the Sandbar, Leo was waiting Jake's Seafood and Grill and Valeria was stuck cleaning the showers.

Annabeth made quick work of the information and began her journey to the Sandbar, the closet of said locations. When she arrived she found Piper and asked her where Jack and Luke were. Piper asked a few question but easily gave her their spots around the rooms, pointing to the opposite side of the room where a red haired boy with numerous freckles Annabeth could spot from a distance stood.

Jack was across the room, closely monitoring a group of girls who were a drink or two away from falling over. Annabeth wove through the drunk couples on the dance floor and approached him.

"Hey," Annabeth greeted, "are you Jack Peralta?"

"Yes," he turned around, facing her with tired eyes, "and you are?"

"I'm Annabeth Chase," she explained, "I'm working at the Lux Lounge and we had four guys cancel on us so if it's okay with your supervisor we could really use your help on the technical side."

"Oh," the guy looked pleasantly surprised, "that sounds like a lot more fun than watching teenagers get wasted all night."

"Yep," Annabeth grinned, hoping he'd accept the proposition.

"I have to ask Luke but I'd love to help out," he agreed.

"Wonderful," Annabeth brightened and turned to the kitchen where Piper had claimed Luke was 'crankily complaining about anything and everything,' "Luke is also on my list of people to ask so we can head back there together."

"Okay," the brunette nodded in agreement and once again they were forced to carefully step through the maze of dancers without rhythm. They had just stepped through threshold of the kitchen when Luke's voice raised to her ears.

"I don't want- Oh," his blue eyes raked up and down Annabeth's body, examining the situation, "hi, Annabeth," his gaze shifted to Jack at her side, "what are you doing here?"

"I'm looking for you actually," Annabeth replied brightly, hoping to move past the bedroom debacle, "we need help with the set in the Lux Lounge and I was wondering if you were available to assist us for the night."

"You?" Luke furrowed his brow, allowing a small smile to color his face.

"My boss," Annabeth fixed with a shrug, glad there was no animosity between them. Was she crazy to think he might have been serious when he told her he just wanted her to be happy?  
"I can come," he responded, glancing around the kitchen at the rest of his staff, "let me find someone to fill in for me."

"Okay," Annabeth agreed and turned to face Jack, making small talk as Luke sauntered around the room speaking to employees.

"I'm ready," Luke announced as he returned then directed his stare towards Jack, "what do you need?"

"We need more than just one person," Annabeth amended quickly, before Jack could get a word in, "Jack is on my list of helpers, he just needs your permission."

"I suppose," Luke said slowly, visibly gritting his teeth. Annabeth wondered what was bothering him but before she got the chance to ask he was already propelling her out of the bar and back to the lounge.

They walked mostly in silence, a comment here and there about the weather or the general decor, that was, until Annabeth yawned loudly.

"Long night?" Luke questioned in an innocent tone.

"A bit," Annabeth replied shortly, keeping her eyes on Jack to assure herself nothing seemed unusual based on her behavior.

"You should go to bed earlier," Luke commented, his eyes not straying from the path before them.

"Perhaps," Annabeth sighed noncommittally, regarding him out of her peripheral vision. The rest of the trip was spent in buzzing silence, tension ringing through the air. She prayed to go Jack hadn't noticed anything.

"Head backstage and look for Hannah. She'll explain your jobs." Annabeth informed, pointing them in the right direction once they had reached the doors to the lounge.

"Aren't you coming with us?" Luke asked as Jack passed through the doors and began to head towards the stage.

"What are you doing?" he called over his shoulder to Luke when he realized the blonde boy wasn't following his actions.

"Just a second," Luke shooed him away, "I'll catch up." Jack narrowed his eyes but nodded, walking away and allowing Luke his moment of secrecy.

"What do you want, Luke?" Annabeth questioned, keeping her eyes in line with his.

"I just wanted to let you know I was speaking honestly last night," he reached forward, placing a comforting hand on Annabeth's shoulder, and she, despite her better judgement, didn't nudge him away.

"What are you talking about?" Annabeth played dumb, "I didn't see you last night."

"Don't be that way, Annie," Luke soothed, "I know you were in Percy's room last night and I really meant what I said, I just want you to be happy and if Percy makes you happy than you have my complete permission to date him."

"I never needed your permission," Annabeth muttered.

"I know," Luke conceded, his light blue eyes dark in the dim lighting, "but you have it nonetheless."

"Thank you," Annabeth offered with a small smile, "you won't tell anyone, right?"  
"Of course, not," Luke shook his head, matching her expression with a shy grin of his own.

"You should go help Hannah now," Annabeth nodded her head at the doors, in the direction of her supervisor.

"You're right," Luke shook his head, chuckling a bit, "you always were."

"I think you'd be surprise just how wrong I can be sometimes," Annabeth admitted.

"Annabeth," Luke said hesitantly, shooting her a nervous look, "do you- can I… um… give you a hug?"  
"Sure," Annabeth smiled past a lump in her throat at the prospect. Luke slowly walked towards her and wrapped his arms around her. His warmth was comforting and the feeling of his exhales ruffling her hair nostalgic but she could only think of Percy. It was only the first day of his trip and she already missed him an unbelievable amount. Several times today she found herself thinking of something she'd like to mention to him or an activity she'd like to try with him only to remember he was on a plane, flying across the United States as she monologued internally.

Luke released her and, after nodding politely, entered the lounge through the large black doors. Annabeth took a deep breath, glanced back down at her list, and strode down the hallway, looking for two more technical helpers.

* * *

To both Annabeth, Hannah _and_ Jorge's surprise, the show went off without a hitch. The lights, the music and the background panels all looked flawless. Hannah had asked the staff replacements to stay the evening. She had even promised them free drinks as a number of them were already working overtime.

Apart from Luke, Annabeth had no prior encounters with the generous employees and was surprised how pleasant their company was. Valeria had been incredibly kind to her, probably because Annabeth had managed to save her from cleaning the showers, and Leo was insufferable but kind of funny at times, not that she'd ever admit that.

Annabeth soon found many similarities with her fellow peers. Leo was friends with Hazel and Frank and Valerie was also from San Francisco. All in all Annabeth's night was going wonderfully other than the hurt of the elephant in the room, or lack there of, Percy.

Annabeth was sitting on a barstool while she took a temporary break when Valeria snuck up behind her.

"Boo," she cooed into Annabeth's exposed ear.

"Ahh!" Annabeth jumped up and off the chair. "Hades Valerie!," she breathed unevenly, "why would you scare me like that?"

"Thought it might be humorous," Valeria shrugged and took the stool behind her, motioning to Jorge for him to prepare her a drink. The bartender, clearly annoyed, huffed slowly and began to loudly clink equipment together as he readied her drink. "When does this end?" Valeria asked, ignoring the loud noises coming from behind the bar.

"Around eleven," Annabeth informed, "but sometimes it's a little later, I suppose it depends on the day."

"A couple of us were planning on going back to my room afterwards and were wondering if you would care to join us," Valeria proposed, silently thanking Jorge as he roughly handed her a daiquiri.

"Who?" Annabeth inquired, eyes flitting across the room.

"Me, Leo, Jack, Luke, Emily and a few others maybe."

"Sounds like a party," Annabeth opinionated, "are you inviting me?"  
"Yes," Valerie sighed exasperated, a slight smile coloring her face, "but it sounds so stupid to say I'm having a party in my hotel room, won't you please come."

"It does sound a bit highschool," Annabeth laughed, "but I'm still in highschool anyway."

"So," Valeria pressed, grabbing Annabeth's hands from where they were folded in her lap and squeezing them tightly, as if trying to push her enthusiasm into her, "what do you say?"

"I'll go," Annabeth replied after a moment of thought, "but can I bring a friend."  
"Absolutely," Valeria grinned excitedly, "the more the merrier."

a/n: look okay, I know it's a long ass wait and I'm really sorry. I'll try harder in the future, the problem is my work ethic sucks so bad. I swear I don't feel stress and although that sounds like it would be good because I'm not constantly stressed out it also means that I have nothing in my brain screaming at me to write my English essay until midnight the night before it's due.

anyway, yeah, as I said before, I'll try.


	58. Chapter 58

a/n: sorry, I didn't read through this. I'm tired and I'll edit it l8r. Sorry if the writings not great, I've been running on like 2 hours of sleep this whole week.

disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson

"Would you stop complaining," Annabeth snapped at Piper who was cranky because she'd been unfairly awoken from her nap.

"I'm not complain-" Piper was cut off as the door to Valeria's room swung open.

"Hey, Annabeth," Valeria sauntered outside and hugged her tightly, "is this your friend?" Annabeth nodded politely, she could already smell the alcohol on Valerias breath.

"I'm Piper," the brunette introduced herself with a charming smile, "I'm relieved believe someone is finally throwing a party around these parts. I thought I might die of boredom."

"I'm Valeria. Come on in," she took a few steps back and opened the door to her room.

Annabeth's jaw dropped at the sight. There were over a dozen people swaying sloppily to the music. Annabeth didn't understand how they'd been able to get away with it up until now. She could barely manage five people in her room without someone telling her building supervisor.

"Don't worry," Valeria told Annabeth, sensing her question, "I paid off Henry. He's our housing manager."

"And no one else says anything?" Annabeth asked warily.

"Nope," Valeria grinned, "now let's get you a drink."

"No," Annabeth shook her head, "it's fine." She wasn't sure it was such a good idea to get drunk in front of such a large group of employees. She might have an accidental slip of the tongue and blurt out something incriminating about Percy.

"Are you sure?" Valeria inquired, her hands already reaching for the tequila.

"Yes," Annabeth assured her, "but I might have some later."

"I, on the other hand," Piper interjected, " _would_ enjoy a little something."

"Right away," Valerie nodded and got to work. Well, Annabeth wasn't sure you could call it work. It was really mixing sprite and tequila into what she could only assume was a horrid combination but it did involve measuring in one sense or another.

"Now," Piper said once she had her drink in her hand, "let's get you dancing, Annabeth. You're acting much too stand offish for me."

"I don't want to dance, everyone is going to be all touchy feely with me," Annabeth whined, "besides this song isn't even good."

"Ugh," Piper groaned and gripped Annabeth's wrist, pulling her begrudgingly into the center of the room where people were generally congregating. "Just move your hips," Piper recommended and took another swig before doing the same herself.

It took Annabeth a while before she was able to fully enjoy herself but once she let loose she found the music wasn't all the bad and the people around her really weren't bumping into her as much as she'd previously predicted. She smiled and it was lost among the gyrating folks around her. She quite enjoyed the anonymity and was just beginning to really find her groove when she felt someone tap her shoulder. Annabeth turned around and saw Luke smiling shyly down at her.

"Hey," he greeted over the music, "what are doing?"

"Dancing," Annabeth shrugged, "I thought that was obvious."

"Right," he bowed his head as if embarrassed and Annabeth took a bit of pity on him. She _had_ been rude to him for the last few weeks, granted he had cheated on her, but still. It couldn't hurt to offer him an olive branch, especially after he'd apologized to her earlier that evening.

"Luke," Annabeth called as he began to back away from her, retreating from the mass of people dancing. At her words his head picked up and, even in the dim lighting, she saw his eyes brighten slightly, "come dance with me." She requested, slyly pushing the people next to her in order to clear the area for him.

"Are you sure?" he questioned but move forward without waiting for her answer, "you're boyfriend wouldn't mind?"

"What?" Annabeth asked, furrowing her brows at his inquiry. In her shock she didn't notice him take her hands in his and pull her a little deeper into the crowd. She opened her mouth to tell him what he'd meant by the comment but all that escaped her was pained squeak as someone savagely stepped on her heel, effectively disabling her.

Annabeth swallowed her sounds and tried to distract herself from the pain by moving her body to the rhythm. The disturbance only persisted a minute as the song genre drastically changed and before she knew it she and Luke were standing awkwardly by each other during a slow song.

"Um," he laughed sheepishly, glancing down at his feet then back up at her.

"Let's sit down," Annabeth recommended quickly. Dancing at a close distance was perfectly admissible but swaying in Luke's arms for a prolonged period of time probably wouldn't be appropriate.

"Okay," he agreed and followed her out of the mob of people towards a ratty little couch sitting at the edge of the room. She sat down and allowed him to take a seat next to her.

"How are you?" she asked with a yawn as she watched Piper continue to draw the eyes of every male in the room.

"I'm okay," he considered, "you?"

"I'm good," Annabeth replied absently, playing with the hem of her shirt with one hand. They both sat in silence for a few seconds before Annabeth spoke again, "can you believe we've been working here for over month? It feels like just yesterday we started."

"I know," he shook his head, narrowing his eyes thoughtfully, "it's unbelievable how the time has flown."

"It's crazy to think that in only a few short weeks we'll be home," Annabeth wondered out loud, "what will happen to us all?"

"What do you mean?" Luke questioned, his blue eyes raising to examine her distant expression.

"We've all changed to so much," she uttered slowly, "nothing will be same."

"Apparently I should look to date a movie star," Luke chuckled.

"What?" Annabeth eyes widened, snapping her gaze to his.

"It appears that's the way to come about the grand realization you've incurred," he teased, "I should get myself my own Percy Jackson?"

"Don't say his name," Annabeth hissed, "someone might hear you."

"Annabeth," Luke chuckled, "you worry too much. Everyone here is drunk off their asses, they won't remember a word you say."

"I know," she dismissed, "but there's nothing wrong with being cautious... It might have been useful in the past." Annabeth muttered the second part, meaning for only herself to hear it. Luckily, the music was too loud for Luke to hear anything.

"Hey guys!" a bright voice to their left interrupted both their trains of thought. They looked up and spotted Valeria leaping towards them, red solo cup tipping uncertainly in her grip.

"Val," Luke grinned, "how much have you had to drink?"

"Nothing." Her defensive lie received a pointed look to which she replied, "okay maybe a smidge."

"Sure," Annabeth chuckled dubiously, "give it to me." She held out a hand, requiring the cup.

"Nooo," Valeria whined, "I really haven't had that much."

"C'mon," Annabeth insisted, "you're gonna need the energy later when you have to kick a several dozen people out of your room."

"Fine," Valeria huffed but handed her the cup, "this is totally unfair. You both can't act like you have the moral high ground just because you're both sober."

"I didn't say I did," Luke arched an eyebrow as she stumbled backwards slightly, rocking on her heels.

"But you act like it," Valeria sniffed, "it's really very annoying."

"You should sit down," Luke advised, watching her as she managed to recover from yet another close call.

"Nope," Valeria smirked, "this is a rocking party and I plan to enjoy it."

"You'll enjoy it until you wake up with your own vomit sticking to your hair," Annabeth remarked, "or someone else's, depends how the night goes."

"So skeptical," Valeria tutted, "I'll be fine." With that she unevenly walked off, leaving Luke and Annabeth to laugh at her behavior. As the sweet humorous noise escaped her Annabeth was struck by how pleasant it was. She had completely forgotten why she'd liked Luke in the first place. It was little moments like this that had made her fall in love with him but apparently the affections hadn't been returned or he wouldn't have cheated.

The dark thought invaded her brain before she had time to consider the damper it would put on her mood. She sighed and allowed her eyes to roam the room only to notice Piper on the dance floor. She was wildly flailing her arms around and swinging her hips in a mismatched rhythm.

Annabeth smiled at her friend's free movements and reached into her back pocket, taking out her phone. She glanced at the time and saw it was a little over midnight. Wow, time had rushed by. She regarded Piper on the dance floor and turned to Luke to excuse herself.

"Where are you going?" he questioned when she stood up, his voice laced with a desperation that had been otherwise absent during their encounter.

"I'm tired," she explained, "I'm gonna get Piper and take her back to our room I think."

"Do you want me to come with you?" Luke asked, eyes darting to Piper then back to Annabeth.

"... no," Annabeth chuckled, trying not to overanalyze his words.

"Okay," he nodded and relaxed back into the couch, letting the cushions consume his figure. Annabeth spared him a quick wave then faced the dance floor to find Piper. They both had an early wake up in the morning and she knew no matter how much Piper protested tonight her friend would grateful come morning time.

Annabeth eyes searched for Piper among the crowd but she was nowhere in sight. She calmly considered the places her friend might have run to. She checked the bathroom, the small kitchen, the dance floor one more time and the bedroom but alas, Piper was nowhere to be seen.

 _Fuck_ , Annabeth thought as her breathing grew to panting and her eyes widened in panic. Her friend had a reputation for getting herself in difficult situations when no one was watching and they were in the worst possible place for that to happen. Piper could have easily run into a distributed supervisor who would report her and she would be promptly fired.

Consequent to Annabeth's frantic wanderings Luke appeared behind her, lugging Piper on his shoulder. He got her attention by clearing his throat loudly and when she didn't hear that by simply kicking her in the back of the leg as his arms were preoccupied holding Piper's weight.

"Thank the gods!" Annabeth exclaimed and let out a sigh of relief when she turned and saw him. "Where was she?" she inquired, letting the stress slowly leave her being.

"Passed out on a couch," he grunted, shifting Piper's body.

"Of course," Annabeth rolled her eyes. She bit her lip, wondering how she would manage to carry the brunette back to their room when Luke interrupted.

"I can carry her," he said as if reading her mind.

"Are you sure?" Annabeth questioned, the gnawing at her lips intensifying.

"I'm sure," Luke chuckled, "I'm a big strong man after all."  
"Okay," Annabeth allowed with a quick sound of amusement. "I'm gonna say thank you to Valeria then we can go. I'll meet you at the door."

"Sounds good," Luke nodded and began to move towards the front door, careful not to knock Piper's head into anything while he walked.

"Valeria," Annabeth flagger her friend down.

"Annabeth," the girl replied with a giggle, pushing past the dark skinned boy who she had been talking to.

"Me and Piper are heading out," Annabeth grinned as the handsome man behind her friend eyed her ass in an overly obvious way.

"What?!" Valeria demanded, "why?"

"Piper passed out," Annabeth explained with a chuckle at her exaggerated movements in her state.

"So what?" Valeria questioned, throwing an arm around Annabeth's shoulder and leading her out of the small kitchen, "there are plenty of places for her to sleep here."

"We also have to work in the morning," Annabeth argued, "at seven."

"Oh," Valeria eye's narrowed as she tried to work out the hours until then, "bugger. I'm off tomorrow."

"Have a nice night," Annabeth said, removing her new friend's arm from her neck, "Piper and I had a good time…" she glanced over at the cherokee brunette and added, "maybe _too_ much fun."

"I'm sure you're night isn't over yet," Valeria wiggled her eyebrows suggestively and Annabeth was forced to stop and ask.

"What do you mean?"

"You and Luke," she nodded her head in the direction of the door where he was patiently waiting, balancing Piper's body on his shoulder, "you're obviously gonna hook up."

"What?!" Annabeth eyes widened, "no, absolutely not-"

"There's no need to lie," Valeria slurred, "sure he and I had sex last week and I maybe hoped he'd call me afterward but his eyes never left you all night. I have no chance."

"No, Valeria," Annabeth shook her head vigorously, trying to extinguish all of the ideas from her head, "we're not together. I don't like him one bit! I have a boyfriend!"

"Okay," Valeria rolled her eyes, not buying it, "sure. I'll see you both soon."

"But-"

"Val!" someone yelled over the crowd, "Megan just threw up all over your bathroom!"

"Fuck," Valerie shook her head and left Annabeth without another word. The blonde was still for a minute as she considered running after her.

 _No_ , she decided, _I'll talk to her tomorrow, when she's not drunk_. With the issue momentarily concluded she strode back to Luke and Piper.

"Let's go," she swung the door open and motioned to the hallway. Luke nodded but didn't say anything as the followed her instructions. In silence they boy walked back to her room.

* * *

When they reached her building Annabeth rushed inside, reaching for her key card as she half ran to the door. She was desperate to leave Luke's presence. She wasn't worried about him per say but it was something about what Valerie had said that gave her a dark feeling and the dread boiling in her stomach only worsened when he forcefully pushed past her and into her room.

"How much did she drink?" Luke laughed as he set Piper down on the bottom bunk, completely oblivious to Annabeth's feelings.

"I have no idea," Annabeth said quickly and Luke took a tentative step towards her. "Look, Luke." Annabeth blurted out, prepared to get him out no matter the cost, "I'm actually feeling very sick myself. I think I have food poisoning. I had some sketchy fish earlier, it doesn't matter, but I think you should probably go before things get too gruesome."  
"Are you sure?" he frowned.

"Yes," Annabeth said, not so lightly pushing him out the door.

"I could hold your hair back," he joked.

"No," Annabeth laughed nervously, "I'm good, thanks."

"Okay," Luke smiled as she successfully relinquished him to the hallway, "bye. Sweet dreams, Ann-"

"Night," Annabeth exhaled, cutting off his words with a swift slam of the door. She heard his footsteps pace the hallway a few times outside before exiting her building and returning to his own.

Annabeth sighed. She shouldn't feel this way around Luke. It was cruel to him really, he'd done absolutely nothing wrong to her in the last few weeks. Okay… that wasn't exactly true. Annabeth walked back to the bunk beds and gazed at Piper's sleeping form. She lacked the energy to maneuver her way onto the top bunk without a ladder so she settled to instead push Piper to the other side of the bed and slip under the covers next to her.

The daunting seeming task only took a few minutes and it left Annabeth feeling surprisingly energetic. She glanced at the time and, deciding it was a semi-appropriate hour, flipped open her laptop. She briefly scrolled through her emails, lying lazily on her back. There was nothing new, just a few emails from random colleges across the country and spam.

Annabeth sighed and was about to open Netflix when she suddenly noticed a single email from Piper. She observed the email had been sent out at 1:59 pm and glanced over at her passed out friend with a funny expression. She shook her head slightly, wondering why Piper hadn't said anything, and opened the email.

* * *

Piper Mclean

To: you

You lucky bitch.

http/this-is-a-random-link-.-com

* * *

Annabeth frowned and clicked on the link to see what her friend had commented on. As the video loaded on her computer she saw Percy's name in the description and felt her heartbeat quicken. The still frame was of him seated looking slightly uncomfortable in a cafe and the title read _Percy Jackson Impromptu Interview_. She let the video play and watched.

"We're here today with Percy Jackson on 12th and Madison where he has stopped for coffee."

"Yep," Percy confirmed, sipping at his lidded drink, "I need to go soon so if we could make this quick."

"Of course," the female interviewer stepped into the frame, "Mr. Jackson, why have you returned to the great state of New York when you were reported to be filming your movie all through the summer?"

"Personal affairs," Percy offered sternly.

"Okay," the reporter nodded. It was obvious from his stony eyes he had no intention of revealing anything else on the subject. Annabeth smiled a bit, thinking of his loyalty to his mother. The red headed interviewed pursed her lips silently, thinking up the next talking point then blurted, "what about your hair?"

Percy raised his eyebrows in surprise, his fingers absently running through his hair, "what about it?" he asked.

"You've dyed a small portion of it gray," the woman informed him as if this were well known information and not something that had been public for less than a day.

"Okay," Percy agreed tightly, his eyes darting somewhere off screen.

"Well," she pressed, "polls show that the your followers don't like it."

"There was a poll?" Percy questioned with a laughable expression.

"Duh," the reporter replied in a sharp tone only to be kicked by someone off screen, "I mean… of course, Mr. Jackson. You're very popular. So why did you do it?"

"It was time for a change," Percy replied with a shrug.

"Pardon my brazen, but not all changes are good, Mr. Jackson."

"I know," Percy nodded, narrowing eyes at her, "but this one is." Annabeth felt her heart soar at his words. "Now I should really get going-" he tried to move past the woman but the camera only zoomed in closer to his face and the reporter roughly blocked his passage.

"One last question before you go, Mr. Jackson." Percy scowled but allowed it. "The fans are dying to know, are there any new developments in the love department?"

"No," Percy grinned and shook his head, shooting the camera a knowing smile as if he knew she'd be watching this later. He titled his blue green eyes directly into the camera and added softly, "no one."

"Thank you, Mr. Jackson," the woman thanked, obviously disappointed his answer wouldn't the source of this week's juicy celebrity gossip.

"It's no problem," Percy smirked and the video ended, leaving Annabeth staring at his handsome face and sly smile. She let out a mad giggle and shut the computer, wondering how he could make her feel this giddy even over 1000 miles away. It was truly impressive, a world renowned talent really.

Annabeth placed her laptop on the floor below her bed and laid back against the mattress, unable to wipe a sappy smile off her face. She closed her eyes and allowed her consciousness to slip away, Percy's smile echoing across her subconscious, surely invading her dreams with a soft sweetness later tonight.

a/n: yeah, so that's that.


	59. Chapter 59

a/n: obv didn't read through this.

disclaimer: I don't own PJO or HoO

* * *

It had been nearly a week since Annabeth had seen Percy, impromptu interviews and cross country text messages aside, and yet the week progressed in a surprisingly positive manner. Even though she constantly missed him and was constantly reminded of him with every blue object that passed by, she had managed to patch up her relationship with Luke, disregarding how oddly he was acting, make a number of new friends, arrive on time to work everyday and basically, by her own admission, be overall spectacular at her demanding job.

Though she longed for Percy's presence, his messages had a surprisingly subduing effect on the feeling. The occasional ocean pun and stupid meme always managed to split her lips into a giddy grin. Sure, the stuff he texted her was almost always corny and silly but she loved it nonetheless, she loved _him_ nonetheless.

"Annabeth!" Annabeth heard a shrill voice ring across the emporium, calling for her.

"Here!" She announced, flailing around the clipboard she'd been using to keep track of inventory above her head.

"There you are." Shirley walked towards her, holding a small stack of paper in her arms. "I have your new schedule," she told her, her fingertips rapidly carding through the stack. Her supervisor located it and handed her the document before leaving without another word to find the next employee.

Annabeth glanced down at her paper, desperately hoping one of her shifts would overlap with Pipers.

* * *

Saturday: Life Guard duty (West pool) 10:00am - 4:00pm. Customer Services (South side) 6:00pm - 11:00pm

Sunday: Front Desk (main lobby) 8:00am - 1200am. Poolside (West pool) 2:00pm - 11:00pm.

Monday: Free day

Tuesday: Life Guard duty (West pool) 10:00am - 4:00pm. Customer Services (South side) 6:00pm - 11:00pm

Wednesday: Front Desk (main lobby) 8:00am - 1200am. Poolside (West pool) 2:00pm - 11:00pm.

Thursday: Life Guard duty (West pool) 10:00am - 4:00pm. Customer Services (South side) 6:00pm - 11:00pm

Friday: Front Desk (main lobby) 8:00am - 1200am. Poolside (West pool) 2:00pm - 11:00pm.

* * *

Annabeth sighed as she read over the text. How was it that the single sheet of paper that lay before her could dictate her mood for the week?

 _It really won't be that bad_ , she tried to convince herself, _lifeguarding is mildly exciting… sometimes_. Her eyes skipped over the second part of the line and she groaned audibly. Customer Service was the worst. The _absolute_ worst. She'd been assigned to it once before and, when she _wasn't_ bored out of her mind, she was being yelled at by angry frustrated hotel guests without anyway of truly fixing their problems.

"Annabeth!" the blonde heard Piper's voice behind her and turned to see her friend bounding towards her, paper in hand. "What did you ge- oh." she stopped, examining Annabeth's expression, "that bad?"

"Customer service." Her simple reply sufficed and Piper nodded in understanding.

"My free day is Wednesday," the cherokee girl offered with a hopeful smile.

"Mine is Tuesday." Annabeth shook her head. The last schedule had been too good to be true, she should have realized and taken advantage of it sooner.

"We'll find time," Piper assured her. "I know we will. We always manage to evade the resort's controlling ways."

"I don't doubt it." Annabeth chuckled. "We should get back to work," she suggested, folding the paper and shoving into her back pocket as she pushed the thoughts into the back of her mind. "Shirley is in _quite_ a mood today."

"Tell me about it." Piper widened and she leaned in slightly, eager to disclose. "I asked her if I she'd like some coffee, to sweeten her up before the midterm review, and she told me-"

"Girls," Shirley sharply addressed the pair. "Avoiding work as per usual."

"Not at all," Piper protested. "We were simply considering the new… setup." Her ever changing eyes desperately searched Annabeth's for help.

"Yes." She granted with a subtle roll of her eyes. "You must have done some rearranging. The room looks great. I was just remarking to Piper that every box is so exquisitely placed, positioned for maximum efficiency I suspect."

"I might have…" Shirley furrowed her brows as her eyes darted around the room. "moved some things around I suppose."

"That _must_ be it." Piper threw her arms up in the air. "I _knew_ there was something different."

"Now that we know," Annabeth nudged her head at Piper, reaching for the box she'd been sorting, "we can get back to work."

"Of course." Piper scurried off in the direction in which she'd come, not allowing a reply from their supervisor. Shirley watched Annabeth intently as she resumed her work and, after briefly considering asking her if they were bluffing, decided her time was more valuable than that and returned to the back room.

Annabeth had only shifted one or two items before she felt a small vibration in her pocket. She glanced around the room, looking for Shirley, then took her phone out, flipping through the recent message.

 _Wanna hear something funny?_ Percy had texted.

 _Sure_ , Annabeth replied and, after waiting a second or two, went back to the task at hand. Days like today really sucked, especially when she knew she should be enjoying the easy work to it's finest since tomorrow would surely be worse.

Her phone buzzed again. _I was bit by a dog today_. Percy explained.

 _Not all that funny_ , Annabeth pursed her lips, _fairly concerning maybe, but not funny._

 _Let me finish the story!_ She breathed in deeply, eyes quickly scanning for her supervisor again. _Yesterday I was walking through the city with my mom when I saw a dog. The dog was cute so I decided to pet it. I even asked the owner and he was completely fine with it. So I bent down to pet the dog and it lunged at me, baring it's teeth. I later found out the dog's name was Annie, which caused me to draw some pretty obvious parallels to a certain someone._

 _Still not funny_ , Annabeth commented, her words contradicting the unavoidable curve of her lips.

 _I had you on my mind and dumbly disclosed a piece of sensitive information to the dog._

 _The information being?_ Annabeth asked when his typing paused.

 _I basically said, 'I know another Annabeth who bites too' and subsequently muttered some rather enjoyable memories of your teeth sinking into my shoulder._

 _What?_ Annabeth demanded, frantically typing for an answer before Shirley returned.

 _At the time_ , Percy continued, ignoring her questions, they'd all be answered soon enough. _I didn't realize the gravity of my words or that my mother could hear them._

 _Per-_

 _Long story short, I might have spilled the beans to my mother and now she's demanding to meet you_. _Good news though, I didn't think you were ready for that so I struck a deal_. Annabeth eyes followed the words as they appeared across the screen, reading them as fast as they came. _I appeased her with a photo and a short video_.

Annabeth had to say _something_ about that. _Where did you get a video of me?_

 _Remember the paparazzi who chased us during the boat incident_.

 _You showed your mother a video of me naked?_ Her heart raced at the realization. She hadn't considered how she would be introduced to Percy's mother but _that_ certainly wasn't the ideal first impression.

 _Don't worry_ , Percy calmed her and she could practically hear his soft chuckle, _I only flashed her the bit where we were fully clothed_. _Did you really think I'd openly show my mother a post coital film?_

Annabeth considered typing 'yes' and maybe adding a note about not _loving_ the word coital but he replied before she got a chance.

 _Actually, if_ I _hadn't been naked I might have shown her._ She couldn't tell if Percy was joking or he was serious. _She wouldn't care and besides, she'd be proud. You're quite a catch Annabeth Chase._

 _Thanks_. Annabeth couldn't _not_ roll her eyes at his words and hoped he'd rightly interpreted her flat tone. She put her phone back in her pocket and got to work.

* * *

The next day Annabeth walked into the west pool at 9:45 in the morning. Exactly 15 minutes before her shift as she was supposed to on the first day. She padded forward in her red flip flops and caught sight of a familiar head of blonde hair.

"Luke!" she called out, waving. He turned around and smiled, returning the motion before heading towards her. "Are you on lifeguard duty this session?"

"Yep." Luke grinned. "You?" he asked but his expression looked like he already knew the answer.

"Why else would I be here?" Annabeth shrugged. "In these." She nodded her head, gesturing to her pool shoes.

"How's-" Luke began but was cut off by their new supervisor rushing towards them.

"Luke and Annabeth?" she questioned, her eyes frantic.

"Yes." Annabeth instinctively took a step back at the woman's rash movements.

"Great." She let out a sigh of relief and her postured visibly relaxed. "Last week my lifeguard were constantly late and I had to wait on them to start the swim lessons."

"We'll be on time." Luke assured her, wrapping an arm around Annabeth and pulling her towards him.

"Oh." the woman's eyes shot between the two. "Are you two friends?"  
"Mhm," Annabeth hummed, taking a step to put some safe distance between herself and her ex girlfriend.

"That's fine." The woman bit her lip. "But no goofing around, okay? I can't have anymore kids almost drowning."

"Excuse me?!" Annabeth asked, taken aback. "Someone drowned?"

"No, _almost_ was the keyword there." She shook her head. "Let's start over." Their young supervisor held out a hand. "I'm Sarah. I'm 23 and extremely nervous as this is my first season working at Hotel Escape."

"I'm Annabeth." the blonde reached forward and shook her hand. "And don't worry, we're no seasoned professionals either."

"Luke." He greeted warmly.

Sarah went on to explain their basic duties as life guards. She disclosed the many positives and negatives to the position. She told them about the cycles of classes that would occur and how to address the kids. She briefed them on all the rules they constantly needed to follow and enforce. They had already been taught CPR and the guidelines of the safety aspects in their training prior but the skills were still skimmed over.

After the explanation Annabeth and Luke got to work. They were both situated in tall stands across the pool from each other. The blonde spent the majority of her morning carefully observing the children swimming and returning small awkward smiles from her partner across the body of water.

It wasn't until later,near the end of the shift that she actually had a conversation with someone, and that someone happened to be her ex boyfriend. Annabeth's eyes were alternatively darting between two small groups of elementary aged kids all teetering on the edge of the deep end when she happened to glance over the pool towards Luke's chair and noticed he wasn't there. She shrugged internally and ignored it, turning back towards the risky children.

"Annie." She heard a voice behind and below her. "Sarah told me we could go home early."

"Oh." Annabeth furrowed her brows, biting her lip. She didn't want to leave the kids without any supervision but she was also desperately bored. "I think I'll stay a few more minutes. These kids are sort of making me nervous."

"I get it," Luke allowed with a slight dip of his head. "I'll keep you company until then."

"No!" Annabeth said, probably a little more forcefully than was polite. "I'm fine, really. I don't mind the alone time." He cocked a brow doubtfully. "I could use the time to… think."

"About what?" he inquired, reaching behind him and pulling up a beach chair.

"Stuff." Annabeth shrugged, trying not to be distracted by their height difference. He was normally taller than her but since she was sitting in the typical elevated chairs that belong to lifeguards she was several feet taller than him and he was about waist level on her.

"What kind of stuff?" Luke asked, gazing up at her. "I'm a very good listener."

"Uh-" Annabeth chuckled awkwardly, looking to stall in her lie.

"It's about Percy isn't it." Luke shook his head, a grimace appearing over his light peach colored lips. "I knew it." He reached forward and suddenly gripped her leg, his fingers digging into her calf. "Is he treating you badly? Is he hurting you?"

"No, no!" Annabeth said quickly. "I just miss him. It's hard being away from him. I can't help but think of him at rather inopportune moments really."

"I didn't realize it was so serious." Luke muttered. "You realize you won't last, right?"

"What do you mean?" Annabeth frowned, her attention successfully diverted from the pool.

"I mean Percy and you won't last. What you two have in sustainable." Luke sighed at her unbelieving expression. "He's an actor, a hollywood star. His career is just taking off and so is yours. You don't want to be part of that life but you'll be nevertheless dragged into it if you continue to see him-"

"I can't just stop!" Annabeth cut in in a hiss.

"Why not?" He questioned, his voice growing gruff.

"Because!" Annabeth's eyes widened. "I love him. I can't just fall out of love-"

"You _love_ him?" Luke asked in a deadly quiet whisper. She felt his fingernails curl into her leg muscle and saw his jaw turn tense.

"I-" Annabeth swallowed past a dry lump in her throat. "I- yes. I love him."

"Fine." Luke decided, a sour smile creeping onto his face. "I guess I won't stay then."

"Luke!" Annabeth called out as he abruptly stood up and roughly shoved back the seat where he'd been sitting. "This isn't' about you-"

"Of course, it's about me!" he snarled, getting as close to her as he could with her still sitting way above him. "You told me you loved me and I loved you back. You can't love two people in such a short amount of time. Either you love _him_ ," his mouth curled uglily around the word, "or _me_. You can't love us both."

"Why not?" Annabeth demanded.

"That's not how the heart works."

"And how would you know?" Annabeth questioned vigorously, matching his intensity. "Last time I checked you weren't a psychologist."

"No," he snapped. "You're right, I'm not! But I have been in love. And you don't just fall out of love."

"You do when the person you love cheats on you." Annabeth struggled to keep her tone even. "When they breath your heart."

"You broke my heart as much as I broke yours." Luke shook his head one last time before stalking off. Annabeth was tempted to callhim back, to demand an apology for him unfriend like behavior but she remained silent, instead watching him storm away and picked up his phone.

It rang and, though Annabeth couldn't tell, a female voice answered.

"I told you that was a one time thing," it hissed. The tone barely glossing over her valley girl accent. "Don't call me-"

"I have a proposition," Luke announced, ignoring her pleads. "I think I can help you and you _will_ help me in return."

* * *

a/n: I know it was short but I'm touring colleges and I get home tomorrow so I'll be back to writing then.

Points if you guess who is on the phone. I don't know what you'd redeem the points for but points nonetheless.

p.s. If someone wants to beta this story that would be _wonderful_ and they should pm me. I basically just need someone to proof read it and maybe help with the writing quality on occasion because I get really lazy when writing this story sometimes.


	60. Chapter 60

disclaimer: I own nothing.

a/n: thank you to my new and absolutely wonderful beta cRawr. She is literally the best.

* * *

By the time Valeria approached Annabeth, she had already been yelled at four times during her first shift of working customer service. She had her head tipped back against the chair, her blonde curls spilling over the edges, as she massaged her temples.

"Hey!" Valeria greeted brightly.

"Shit!" Annabeth exclaimed, her eyes shot open. "You scared me." She held her hand to her chest to regulate her breathing.

"I said hi," Valeria laughed and leaned forward onto the cream colored counter before Annabeth, "not exactly what I would call a menacing hello."

"I know," Annabeth shook her head, allowing her body to sink back into her temporary state of relaxation, "but I'm on high alert after what I've been through today."

"It was that bad?" Valeria threw her a sympathetic expression.

"Bad enough." Annabeth shrugged. "What's up?"  
"Well," her friend grinned, "I thought that since you couldn't stay for the entire party on Friday that you might consider going out with us again tonight."

"Where are you going?" the blonde questioned, not wanting to refuse right away.

"A friend of mine is turning 21, and her apartment is only 30 minutes away," Valerie offered. "Please come," she pleaded, "and bring Piper. She's a hoot."

"I-"

"Annabeth please." Her friend pouted her lips and widened her eyes, staring up at her like an injured puppy. "Soon you'll be gone, back to highschool, and I'll never see you again. Allow me to indulge myself just this once."

Annabeth bit her lip, rolling it over in her head. Finally, sentimentality won and she agreed to come out for the night, but only if 'there was a clear plan on how to get back to the hotel'. Valeria briefly rejoiced before leaving to find the child care facility where she was supposed to be working her next shift.

Annabeth waved as she left, and immediately slumped down once Valeria was out of sight. She groaned loudly, raking her fingers through her curls in an attempt stay sane. _One hour down_ , she thought as she glanced at the clock, _four to go_.

* * *

Piper was peacefully watching Netflix on her computer, relaxing on the bottom bunk, when Annabeth told her they were going out.

"What?" the brunette asked, her brows knitting together in confusion.

"I know you heard me," Annabeth rolled her eyes, "let's go. Valeria invited us." She walked over to the closet and threw her friend a red dress. "You could invite Jason if you want."

"Since when are you so eager to go clubbing?" Piper inquired curiously, easily slipping out of her pajamas and into the dress.

"Since never." Annabeth shrugged, sighing quietly when she saw Piper's appearance. How did she look so good? She hadn't even put on make up yet. "I just have some stuff to get off my mind."

"What do you mean?"

"Luke's acting weird," she explained,. "He walked Walked off the job today."

"The job?" Piper repeated back to her, incredulous.

"Oh, yeah." Once she had her dress on, Annabeth walked into the bathroom. "We're lifeguarding together."

"Be careful, Annabeth," Piper advised softly, following her into the small white room. "I know it looks fine on the surface, but underneath he's still angry. I'm not claiming he has bad intentions-"

"You implied it," the blonde considered, reaching for her mascara.

"- but I wouldn't consider him an objective viewpoint." Piper finished, ignoring the interruption.

"I know." Annabeth nodded, biting her lip as if conflicted. "It doesn't matter." Piper shot her a pointed look. "Fine," she conceded, "we can discuss it tomorrow but I promised Valeria we'd be waiting in the parking lot in…" her eyes flicked to her phone as she read the hour, "in two minutes."

"Has it occurred to you that Luke might be attending our little get together?" Piper leaned against the door frame, watching as her friend eye's widened at the suggestion.

"No." Annabeth furrowed her brow. "I think Valeria would have said something, right?" she directed her question to no one in particular, but Piper answered it anyway.

"While she may know you and Luke used to date," they both walked out of the restroom and subsequently slid their feet into small heels, "she has no idea you and Percy are dating now. Someone in that situation, seeing as you and Luke are chummy now, might try to set you two up again."

"Ha!" Annabeth scoffed in exasperation as she reached for her bag on the kitchen counter, and then for the door handle. "Have everything?"

"Yes," Piper narrowed her eyes, "but you need to seriously consider the possibility that these might be _intentional_ run ins."

"I-" Annabeth frowned, recalling her prior encounters, "I suppose we'll see tonight."

And indeed they did. When Annabeth climbed into Valeria's car, only to be pushed into Luke's lap because the car seats were 'over capacity', it became clear what exactly Valeria's motives were. Annabeth briefly wondered what Luke had told Valeria that would lead her to believe she'd ever date him again.

Everyone rapidly exited the car when they reached the club. Valeria had dropped them off near the entrance while her and her friend, Brian, rounded the corner to find parking. One by one, the group shuffled into the bustling building.

When Annabeth crossed the threshold she was immediately separated from Piper. She had felt her friend tightly gripping her elbow only for the pressure to subside a few seconds later. She whipped around at the loss of contact, looking for someone, anyone, she knew. Luckily, and unluckily, Luke was standing directly behind her, watching her with a funny smile of amusement.

"Are you lost?" he asked and Annabeth had to read his lips because of the loud music. She shook her head.

"Where did Piper go?" she yelled, fighting to be heard over the din. Luke shrugged and signaled to the bar, asking if she wanted a drink. She nodded and told him to get her something fruity. She wasn't trying to get _too_ out of control tonight.

The blonde waited patiently as he ordered and bought their drinks, evading incoming men with quick sweeps of her hair or glances at her phone. While she did, she texted her missing friend.

 **Where are you?**

She was relieved when a reply came within seconds.

 **I got lost in the crowd. Where are you?**

Annabeth felt a tap on her shoulder before she could respond, and looked up to see Luke grinning down at her, holding out her drink.

 _Thank you_ , she mouthed and gratefully took the beverage. She took a big sip and opened her mouth to yell again, but thought better of it, and gestured for Luke to bend to her level instead.

"Where should I tell Piper to meet us?" she said into his ear, hoping to conserve her voice for the front desk tomorrow.

"Upstairs," Luke said, pointing toward the stairs, and took her by the arm, successfully preventing her from typing any message. He wove them through the crowd ,and to the bottom of a splatter painted staircase. Annabeth didn't fight back as he dragged her up them, not wanting to lose the only other person she knew.

When they finally reached the upper level Luke let her go. He motioned to a set of couches and sat down at the far right one. Annabeth, whose arm was feeling slightly sore, took a seat on the couch next to his.

 **Come upstairs. We're sitting down in the corner** , Annabeth quickly typed then glanced up to meet Luke's questioning eyes. "Just telling Piper where we are," She filled him in and set down her phone.

"Look," Luke said after a few seconds of awkward, song filled, not-so-silent silence, "I'm sorry about yesterday." He sighed, running his fingers through his hair, and then reached out to hold her hand, but she kept a safe distance, pretending not to notice his confused expression at her lack of engagement. "I didn't think before I spoke and I said some very hurtful things."

"Mhm," Annabeth agreed, "I noticed."

"My point is," Luke continued, "that you are a star, Annabeth. No one should dim your light." She stared at him, trying to locate the apology she'd expected among his words. "Percy dims your light."

"No, he doesn't." Annabeth shook her head and sighed, the conversation quickly taking an unpleasant turn.

"Yes he does," Luke insisted, reaching for her. "I see a huge difference between you when we were dating and now."

"Did you consider there might be other factors at play?" Annabeth reasoned, crossing her arms in protest. She was trying to keep her cool, but her patience was dwindling to a very thin line.

"Well-"

"And even if there weren't," Annabeth laughed, but the sound held no humor, "the only reason I was cheery and happy all the time when _we_ were dating was to keep _you_ happy. I never did anything for myself but now I know my value. I know what I'm worth and you can't take that away."

"I'm not trying to take it away." Luke desperately moved towards her again, flailing his hands as if to prove his passion."I'm trying to give it back."

"But you don't own it in the first place," Annabeth yelled but it didn't turn a single head. "Your approval means less to me than… than a bag of sticks." Before she had time to reevaluate her wit he had wrapped his fingers around her wrist, nails digging into her veins.

"Don't lie to me," he snarled. His eyes searched her face, looking for the innocent girl he used to know. "You were happy with me."

"No." Annabeth shook her head but couldn't manage to yank her arm away. "I was ignorant with you." Her voice softened as she disclosed what she'd been keeping secret so long. "I could never _truly_ be happy because I was always having to concern myself with your… _extracurricular_ activities. And now that I know what's it's like to trust my boyfriend and not have to worry about him cheating or flirting with my cousin-"

"That was one time," Luke whined in frustration.

"- I could never revert back. And I hope you are able to find a relationship as healthy as mine in the future." Luke barely absorbed her information, combatting the sentiment with his own thoughts, his own insistence.

"You really think Percy is _so_ special." Luke sneered. He still hadn't let go of her hand, and his grip was only becoming rougher by the second. "You think you know everything about him? There are secrets he's still not telling you. Did you know he's at a party tonight?" Annabeth frowned, an expression of obliviousness that proved Luke correct in his assumption. "What story did he feed to you about why he had to travel to New York, huh? Was he taking care of a grandparent? He needed to talk to his New York accountant?"

"No." Annabeth shook her head. "It's not the same as it was with us." Luke let out a loud, cynical laugh that had her doubting herself, just as she had at the beginning of the year. "I trust him and he trusts me and anyway," she directed an accusatory stare his way, "why do _you_ know he's at a party tonight?"

"I'm just watching out for you, Annie." Luke crooned as he loosened his fingers around her wrist but didn't let go, stroking the soft skin of her arm instead. "Your boyfriend isn't who you think he is."

"You know what? I don't need you to look-"

"Hey," Piper interjected as she approached the pair, then noticed the grimaces they both wore. "Did I interrupt something?"

"No," Luke said quickly, a little too quickly, dropping his hold on Annabeth.

The brunette noticed Annabeth's troubled expression, and made an excuse. "I need to use the bathroom and I don't want to go alone," she informed them then turned to her friend. "Want to come?" Annabeth nodded but didn't say a word, her eyebrows scrunched together as though she were examining a complex legal document.

Piper led Annabeth to the bathroom and, after setting her bag down on the counter next to her, questioned her about the encounter. The blonde was mostly quiet, saying a few words here and there about Luke and Percy.

"I think I just need another drink." Annabeth sighed.

Piper nodded at the request, and sent them back to the bar where she ordered her friend "a glass of water, because I'm feelings sick." She didn't ask questions. She knew Annabeth might not be ready to talk ,and let her sit down to internalize the conversations she'd just had with her ex for a few minutes.

"Feeling better?" Piper finally asked Annabeth who had been staring longingly onto the dance floor.

"Hmm?" Annabeth turned towards her, the lights of the room reflecting off her eyes.

"Do you feel better?" Piper repeated. "Are you ready to talk about what happened upstairs?"

"Yes," Annabeth replied so softly her friend barely picked it up. "Luke told me I was happier with him than I am with Percy."

"And you said?"

"That I trust Percy and I don't care if he is at a party tonight." Annabeth shrugged, staring off into the dance floor again. "It's fine. There will no doubt be tons of single girls throwing themselves at him but I trust him and anyway, I don't care."

"It sounds like you care," Piper remarked carefully, not wanting to anger her.

"I don't care." Annabeth bit her lip. "I mean I do… but not in the way you think. I care that he didn't tell me, not that he's going. I care that he kept a secret from me."

"If he didn't tell you, how do you know he's even at a party?" Piper questioned confused.

"Luke told me," Annabeth answered simply, as if there were not identifiable conflict of interest with the information.

"Luke obvious wants you to think the worst of Percy," Piper snorted. "Why don't you just call him and ask?"

"I'm pretty sure if I call Luke he'll just tell me the exact same thing he told me two seconds ago," Annabeth groaned. Her head was starting to spin, and her mouth was feeling dry again. She was suddenly regretting finishing her water so fast.

"No," Piper rolled her eyes at her friend's dimwitted words. She was usually the dumb drunk one. "Call Percy."

"Oh," Annabeth thought for a moment, glancing down at her phone. "That's a good idea."

"I know." Piper giggled, pushing her off the couch where they'd taken a seat. "Go." she nodded her head in the direction of the much quieter bathroom area. "Call him!"

"Okay." Annabeth replied, squinting her eyes as she attempted to read the slightly blurry letters on her screen. She walked off in the direction, hobbling a little. It made Piper giggle again.

 _How much did she drink?_ She chuckled to herself. _I thought she'd only had a vodka lime._

* * *

"Annabeth?" Percy's voice came across the phone and her heart came to life, beating wildly in her chest.

"Hi," she said softly and realized she'd half expected him not to answer. He was on east coast time after all and that made it… _pretty late_ , she decided, unwilling and unable to do the math.

"Hey!" he greeted again, then laughed at something someone said on his side. "Gods, it's so good to hear your voice. What's up?"  
"What are you doing right now?" She inquired, trying to keep an innocent tone.

"Right now?" Percy repeated. "I'm out with friends, why?"

"Nothing." Annabeth frowned, wondering if 'out with friends' counted as a party. "I just wanted to say hello."

"I'm glad you did!" he yelled into the phone; the noise on his end was becoming overwhelming. She waited for the calming effect of his voice to set in but for some reason she felt strangely on edge, as if something bad were happening, and she was about to sense it. She heard a loud crash over the phone, and pressed it harder into her ear, hardly feeling the indentation of the device along her skin. "Hey, Annabeth?" Percy questioned.

"Yes?" Annabeth felt slightly faint, her voice was much quieter than she'd meant it to be.

"Could I call you tomorrow?" he asked. "I think Grover just broke a window… or maybe a table."

"Yes." She sighed, struggling to get the word past her lips, as fog settled over her mind.

"Are you feeling alright?" he questioned, concern lacing his tone. "You sound really tired."  
"I _am_ really tired," Annabeth realized out loud, "like really _really_ tired. Fuck, I have to go." She had to get back to Piper, back to a real person who could help her if her gut feeling came true.

"Okay." She thought she heard Percy's lips curve downwards through his words, but the thought quickly vacated her mind.

"I have to go." She gasped before hanging up the phone, not giving Percy the chance to say goodbye, and attempted to find her friend again. Her eyes desperately searched the room until she saw her. Piper was still seated where she'd left her, talking to a guy on her left.

Annabeth stumbled towards her, indelicately shoving past the people around her. She swallowed past a lump of dread in her throat as she neared. She smacked her hands down on the couch next to Piper.

"Piper," she wheezed, "I don't feel right, I think I've been roofied."

"Excuse me," Piper politely dismissed the man who had no doubt been flirting his ass off. "What?" she hissed in disbelief, turning towards Annabeth.

"I'm dizzy," the blonde explained breathlessly. "I'm super tired and can't completely control my body."

"What?" Piper repeated, the crease between her brows deepening with worry. "Are you sure?"

"YES!" Annabeth yelled, her eyes wide with fear. "Take me home! I would uber alone but I'm not sure how long I'll last."

"Okay." Piper nodded, still trying to process what had happened. "I have to find Valeria to tell her we're going home and to warn her to watch her drinks." A wave of nausea rocked Annabeth off her feet and onto the couch. "Can you walk?" Piper questioned, trying to keep panic out of her voice.

"I don't know." Annabeth breathed in deeply, trying to control her nerves. Overreacting would only make things worse. She needed to breath in, breath out, call a cab, and get home.

"Um," Piper pursed her lips, considering her options. "Stay here," she instructed finally. "I'll come find you afterwards, okay?"

"Sounds splendid," Annabeth answered sarcastically, backing into the cushions and making herself comfortable in case she got stuck in that position.

"At least your dry sense of humor is still there," Piper offered. "That means there's hope." Annabeth snorted in disagreement but said nothing else. "Whatever you do, _don't move_ ," the brunette reminded her before shooting her an uncertain look and disappearing into the mass of people.

Annabeth watched the people jumping and gyrating on the dance floor until either the flashing lights, or the roofie gave her a headache. Believing it to be the prior she tilted her head back and closed her eyes, letting darkness wash over her.

She opened her eyes and wasn't sure if a second had past, a minute, an hour, or an eternity. "Annabeth." She heard a male voice, and a funny smile slowly came into view. "Where's Piper?"

"That way," she replied softly, lifting her arm up but pointing to no direction in particular. "Who are you?"

"Annabeth." The pair of lips frowned as they spoke her name. "It's me, Luke."

"Oh." She swallowed with some resistance from her body. It was becoming increasingly difficult to conduct basic bodily movements. "Will you help me find Piper?" She tried to stand but he stopped her, pushing her back with a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"I think it's better if you stay seated," he informed her, and she was much too gone to protest. "I'll keep you company."

"Okay." Annabeth nodded. She felt a weight on the cushion next to her and could only assume he'd sat down. She closed her eyes again as he began to speak.

"I told Lola this was a bad idea," he seemed to be muttering to himself. She could barely make out the words. He took her small hand in his larger one and wondered if it was all worth it.

"Where is Piper?" Annabeth whined, cracking her eyes open to search the room.

"Did you really love me?" he asked quietly.

"Yes," she whispered sleepily. "I did and I still do."

"You do?" Luke's fingers tightened around her and his eyes eyes widened, showing the entirely of his blue irises.

"I'm not _in_ love with you anymore," she clarified, "but I still love you."  
"You're in love with him then?" Luke pried, scowling deeply as she delivered her admission.

"Yes." A small inadvertent smile colored her lips and Luke worried he had done the wrong thing and now it was too late to take it back.

"Annabeth I need-" he began, using his free hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, when he was interrupted.

"There you are!" Piper's relieved voice reached the blonde's ears, and Annabeth immediately perked up at the comforting sound.

"Piper!" she squealed gleefully. "Are you taking me home?"

"Fuck," her friend murmured, realizing how delusional Annabeth was if she wasn't constantly talking about the noise and the people in the club. "Yes. Let's go."

With Luke's help, it only took Piper ten minutes to literally drag Annabeth to the uber that was waiting outside for them. Together the pair shoved her into the backseat. Annabeth groaned at the forceful nature of the push as her face imprinted into the seat.

"Thanks for your help tonight," Piper told Luke as she climbed in after Annabeth.

"No problem." Luke held the door open as she shifted both of their legs so they wouldn't be crushed when it closed. "Piper?" Annabeth's ex said in a tentative voice that made Piper immediately wary.

"Yes?"

"Tell Annabeth I'm sorry," he briefed quickly and shut the door, patting the car twice so it would speed off. Piper didn't have time to stop the ride and ask him what exactly he was referring to.

"I think I'm gonna throw up," Annabeth called from across the seat and the driver began to speed over the limit as Piper consoled her, Luke's admission temporarily slipping her mind.

* * *

a/n: Again, thank you my amazing beta. You are a life saver.

also thanks to MechanicalStache for leaving me a really sweet private message. It was much appreciated.


	61. Chapter 61

disclaimer: I obviously don't own pjo.

a/n: thanks to my wonderful beta cRawr for being forever helpful.

* * *

Annabeth woke up the next morning with a splitting headache and an incredibly horrible taste in her mouth. She pried her eyes open and saw Piper washing her hands in the kitchen sink. "What time is it?" she managed to croak, nearly choking on her bad breath.

"7:15," Piper answered, pausing her actions to bring a plate of crackers over to Annabeth. "You have 30 minutes to shower and get dressed."  
"What is this?" Annabeth questioned, peering warily at the dish that had been set on her lap.

"Breakfast." Piper shrugged at her confused look. "It's all we had." The brunette was already fully dressed, and walked into the kitchenette again. "I have to go. I have the morning shift at the emporium again."

"Okay." Annabeth nodded then immediately stopped, as the movement only caused her head more pain. "What time will you be done?"

"Noon," Piper replied, reaching for the bag that was sitting atop the counter. "Why? Want to get lunch?"

"Yeah." Annabeth sat up. She nibbled at the corner of a cracker and groaned loudly as the substance reached her tongue. " _If_ I'm able to eat anything that is. What happened last night?" She raked her fingers through her dirty hair, digging her nails into her scalp. "Did I drink too much?"

"Um... " Piper tongue poked around her mouth as she searched for a way to recount the events of the previous night to her overcautious friend without causing mass panic. "You don't remember?"

"No," Annabeth said softly, still clutching her head in her hands.

"I'll tell you at lunch then," Piper decided. What Annabeth didn't know couldn't hurt her, at least not for a few hours anyway.

"Okay," the blonde agreed and hobbled into the bathroom. She heard the front door shut and knew Piper had left. She reached into the shower and turned on the water. Even though she was afraid of the sight, she forced herself to look in the mirror while the water warmed. Her reflection wore an exhausted expression and dead eyes. She rubbed underneath her eyes, trying to rid her skin of the black bruises that colored her bags.

Annabeth sighed, and stepped into the steaming shower. The water droplets pattered against her body and slowly slid down her skin, soothing her aching muscles.

* * *

Annabeth's morning working the front desk was entirely uneventful. Two dozen people asked her to replicate the key cards they'd either invalidated, or lost, and another dozen requested additional towels or room service. Her body seemed to be rebelling against whatever she'd drank last night; she couldn't take more than five feet without feeling a slightly nauseous.

As she'd spent virtually the entire morning doing absolutely nothing, she'd had plenty of time to mull over the details of the previous night. She clearly remembered entering the club and immediately losing Piper. Then Luke had ordered her a drink and they'd both traveled upstairs. She faintly recalled the conversation turning sour with her ex before Piper rescued her. After that, the night was pretty much a blur. The next memory she possessed was a flash of her pillow before she collapse onto it.

Just as Annabeth shift ended, she heard her stomach grumble loudly. _Good timing_ , she remarked to herself. She quickly checked in with her supervisor and made her way back to the room where she assumed she'd meet Piper.

By the time Annabeth had reached her room she was starving. It had only taken five minutes for her hunger to grow past an easily satiable amount. Lacking the patience to search through her bag, she knocked on the door, hoping Piper would answer. The blonde smiled broadly when she heard someone working with the doorknob.

"Hey!" Piper swung the door open and greeted brightly.

"Hi," Annabeth replied, pushing past her and into the room. "I'm starved," she informed her friend as she picked up her wallet and placed it in her back. "You ready?"

"Yes." Piper nodded but her smile was diminishing, leaving behind a half worried look.

"What's wrong?" Annabeth inquired, stepping back out the door.

"Long story." Piper closed the door behind them and they both exited the building. Annabeth was tempted to press her friend for details, but her stomach sounded angrily again and she realized she was much too hungry to care.

After deciding where to go, the two girls hopped into Piper's car and drove to the nearby restaurant, chatting amicably along the way. They reached the restaurant in a short ten minutes and were seated within 15.

"So," Piper smoothed a napkin out onto her lap, "do you remember anything about last night?"

"Yes." Annabeth did the same. "I remember losing you, Luke giving me a drink, going upstairs to talk to him and then finding you again."

"Wait, what?" Piper frowned, peering at her friend with confused eyes. "Luke gave you your drink?"

Annabeth had barely parted her lips to answer her friend when a the waiter passed by. They quickly ordered and then return to the subject at hand.

"Who handed you your drink?" Piper rephrased, her tone laced with alarm.

"Luke." Annabeth took a sip of the water the waiter had brought them, and silently commented on how ridiculous her friend was acting.

"Did you drink anything else last night?" Piper asked, leaning forward a bit. Her body language left Annabeth completely bemused.

"I don't know." Annabeth shrugged. "It's all a blur."

Piper scoffed loudly. "Of course, it is," she muttered.

"Piper." Annabeth drew the attention of the brunette. "What happened last night?" She questioned, slightly worried she wouldn't like the answer.

"Last night…" Piper's kaleidoscope eyes shifted uncomfortably, never quite meeting Annabeth's expectant gaze. "You were talking to Luke. It looked like you two might be fighting. Then you called Percy and when you came back you claimed your vision was blurry and you were losing control of your limbs and- "

"I was roofied!" Annabeth hissed, almost knocking over her glass at the revelation.

"I think so." Piper nodded, eyes darting around the room, as if the culprit might be eating in the same restaurant.

"Do you know who did it?" The blonde asked desperately.

"I have no idea but… the only person who gave you a drink was-"

"Luke!" Annabeth gasped. Just as the realization enlightened her, the waiter arrived with their bowls of pasta. "Thanks," she quickly told the man, frantically trying to get him to leave.

"We don't _know_ it was Luke," Piper reminded her. "I think we should give him the benefit of the doubt for now."

"Did he say anything that might indicate he did it?" Annabeth inquired, picking up her fork. Her stomach was still grumbling but the thought of putting anything in her mouth was revolting at the moment.

"No," Piper lied with a swift shake of her head, hiding her eyes behind a patch of hair.

"Good." Annabeth became to attempt to eat her pasta, slowly placing single noodles in her mouth. Piper, employed the opposite tactic and took an enormous bite of pesto pasta, trying to put Luke's last words out of her mind.

 _Tell Annabeth, I'm sorry._

* * *

Annabeth barely had time to change when she got back to her room before taking off to her poolside shift at two o'clock. Piper was right. She shouldn't accuse Luke of roofing her just because she had no other memory of drinking, after all, absence of evidence was not evidence of absence.

Annabeth had been assigned poolside duty before so she knew exactly what to do. When she arrived, she checked in with her new supervisor who insisted on explaining her responsibilities nonetheless.

"You will be expected to serve drinks to the poolside guests and generally pick up after them as much as you can." Annabeth's new supervisor, Jenna, began to turn away from her but, before turning completely, instructed, "and, please, restrain yourselves from some of the more attractive male guests. I've received a plethora of complaints regarding my 'flirty' employees."

"Absolutely," the blonde replied, hiding an amused smile. She'd never had any trouble in _that_ department. She was just about the epitome of a dedicated, no nonsense, employee. That is, until she met Percy. Now, she was willing to lie to her boss just to sneak away and spend an extra second with her boyfriend.

Annabeth walked outside the small cabana where she'd met her supervisor and scanned the surrounding area. There weren't many people out today. It appeared work would be rather slow. She zigzagged through the many pool lounges until she reached the messy one she'd been eyeing earlier. As she set to cleaning it, her mind began to wander back to her conversation with Piper.

Her friend had mentioned Annabeth had called Percy last night. Why had she called him? She somewhat remember being confused, sad, maybe even angry. She remember feeling a whirlwind of emotions but confusion stood out as the most prominent. She wondered what she'd been confused about. Percy wasn't usually confusing. He was usually pretty straight forwards.

Annabeth shook off the many questions creeping in from her subconscious and resigned herself to working and _only_ working. Tomorrow was her free day. She'd have plenty of time to think about Percy then. Maybe she'd even call him and ask.

 _Yes_ , she decided, _that's what I'll do_ , _but I'll do tomorrow._

* * *

The second half of Annabeth's wasn't _quite_ as boring as the first but that didn't mean it was anywhere near interesting. She wasn't sure what she'd been expecting. She'd worked poolside before, it was never _not_ dull.

Annabeth walked back to her room where she found Piper waiting patiently for her. The brunette had put together a sandwich which she was eating while sitting on the bottom bunk.

"Uh may yu hun," Piper said through an enormous mouthful when she saw her friend round the corner.

"Excuse me?" Annabeth laughed, dropping her things off and slipping off her sandals.

Piper held up a finger while she finished chewing then repeated, "I made you one. There's a plate in the microwave."

"People usually put perishables in the microwave." Annabeth followed her friend directions and sauntered to the kitchenette where she reached inside the small microwave. "I don't think sandwiches count," she finished as she rejoined her friend on the bed.

"How was your day?" Piper asked, relaxing back onto the covers.

Annabeth felt an urge to reprimand her for probably leaving crumbs all over the bed but resisted. Instead, she asked the question that had been plaguing her all day. "Do you know why I called Percy last night? I can't remember."

"Oh." Annabeth watched Piper bite the inside of her cheek, as if contemplating the best way to break the bad news.

"Did we fight?"

"No." Piper shook her head, a conflicted expression still troubling her. "Luke- Luke told you," she began slowly, "that Percy was at a party last night. You didn't believe him so you decided to call him."

"Was he at a party?" Annabeth inquired with a frown.

"I'm not totally sure." Piper paused. Her eyes darted to the left, trying to recall the conversation. "You were pretty out of it but… I think so."

"I thought he was taking care of his mom." The furrow between Annabeth's brows deepened. Would Percy lie? No, he wouldn't… right?

"I'm sure it was a simple misunderstanding." The brunette stuffed the last piece of sandwich into her mouth and used her now empty hands to spread out the covers. "Come unwind with me. We can watch something on Netflix."

"Okay." Annabeth nodded. She set her sandwich aside and climbed under the covers with her friend.

"Tomorrow is your free day," Piper whispered to her once as she scrolled through movies. "Do you know what you're doing?"

"Without you, you mean?" Annabeth chuckled, running her fingers through her messy curls. "No," she told Piper without allowing her to reply, "I have no idea."

"Maybe you could call Valeria or Thalia," the brunette suggested.

"Maybe," Annabeth agreed and pointed to a comedy she'd been dying to see. Piper silently complied and selected the film.

* * *

When Annabeth pried her eyes open Monday morning she was still snuggled under the covers in her uniform and the computer was sitting in Piper's place. She sat up with a tired sigh and rubbed her eyes. She reached for her phone on the nightstand but realized when she picked it up that it was dead.

Annabeth groaned loudly and plugged it in. She swung herself out of bed and used her body's momentum to reach the bathroom where she took a long hot shower. It was amazing, having a day all for herself. She hadn't just relaxed alone in so long.

She took her time getting ready and when she finally decided she was ready to come into contact with another human her phone had turned back on. Annabeth opened her device and noticed two texts. The first was from Thalia

 **Let's hang. When are you free?**

Annabeth grinned. The proposal was perfect timing and it had only been sent twenty minutes ago.

 **Now?** The blonde texted back with a broad grin on her face. She moved onto the second message. It was from Percy.

 **Are you alright?**

 **Yes** , Annabeth replied, throwing some wet curls over her shoulder. **Why do you ask?** She waited but Percy didn't answer. Annabeth inhaled deeply and resigned herself to her kitchenette to finish her college applications as she anticipated Thalia's response.

She had just sat down at her computer when she heard her phone chime and leaped to her feet, eager for an excuse from her work. She stumbled over to where she'd left it charging next to her bed.

 **I'm on my way**. Annabeth felt an involuntary smile stretch across her lips as she heard Thalia's telltale voice speak the words in her head.

 **I'll be waiting in the parking lot** , the blonde replied and strolled over closet. She picked out a simple ensemble of jeans and a white t-shirt. With the information that Thalia _always_ drove above the speed limit and somehow _never_ managed to get caught, Annabeth speedily readied herself. She threw her phone and wallet into a bag before slipping on a pair of sandals and heading out.

Annabeth had only been waiting outside for a few minutes when she realized she should have brought a jacket. Although the sun was shining, the cool breeze resulted in an atmosphere that was much colder than she'd been expecting.

After thinking it over for a second, Annabeth stalked back into the building to grab something to warm her up. Just as she opened the door to her room she received a call.

"Hey," she greeted, picking up the phone with a grin.

"Bitch," she heard Thalia's playful voice say. "You told me you were waiting outside. I was rushing to get here. I ran four red lights."

"As if my presence would have made any difference." Annabeth scoffed, carefully balancing the phone between her shoulder and her ear in order to obtain use of her hands.

"I'm offended," Thalia faked hurt. "I care very much about your well being. Otherwise I would have been a perfect citizen."

"Sure." Annabeth rolled her eyes, finding it difficult to both find a jacket and continue her conversation. "I'll be out in a second. I need to grab a jacket."

"Fine." The call died and the blonde dropped the phone back into her bag. She hastily rummaged through her newly messy closet, looking for her red sweatshirt. She knew it was around there somewhere. In the search, she stumbled upon Percy's blue dress shirt; the one he'd lent her the first night they'd been together, the first time they'd kissed.

Annabeth crushed the shirt in her arms and closed her eyes, wishing herself back to that time. She'd been confused that night but a different kind of confused. A better kind of confused. Pulling it close to her chest, she smelled spilled alcohol mixed with Percy; minty and masculine. She laughed softly at the memory of their awkward first kiss, of his treating her like glass and her rushing out when his alarm went off.

Annabeth was jerked out of her day dream by the sharp sound of her phone. She reached into her bag and pulled it out. She expected to see a sassy comment from Thalia about her taking too long, instead she received a text from the very person she'd been imagining.

 **You seemed kind of out of it. I might have been wrong though. I wasn't in such a great state myself. A ran into a childhood friend who decided to throw me a surprise party.**

Annabeth ran her tongue along her teeth, taking in the information. So he _hadn't_ been lying to her. It was a surprise party, he couldn't have known it was going to occur. If he had he would have told her.

 **He threw it without my knowledge.** Percy added a second later, as if she were oblivious to the concept of a surprise.

 **I figured** , Annabeth texted back good naturally. **It being a surprise party and all.**

 **Being away from you has caused me to forget what a perceptive girlfriend I have**. The blonde chuckled at his response and was typing her own when a loud obnoxiously long honk permeating the building's thin walls. She glared disapprovingly in the general direction of the noise, knowing full well it was Thalia pressuring her.

Annabeth scowled, muttering loudly about her friend's antics but complied, throwing her phone in her shoulder bag and reaching for the nearest coat. It was Piper's but it fit just fine. It didn't matter anyway, the fit was the least of her worries when Thalia was potentially agitating her fellow employees. She hoped it wasn't enough for any of the them would hold a grudge and ran out the door, jumping into the car and fleeing from the scene of the crime.

If they didn't know it was her surely they couldn't report her, right?

* * *

a/n: sorry about the long wait. I have a ton ton ton of testing happening right now. It'll all be over within a week or so though so expect more frequent chapters by then.


	62. Chapter 62

a/n: Thank you to Cori, my wonderful beta who always gets back to me even though I'm a nocturnal writer.

also, check the end for my drawn out apology and general rant.

disclaimer: I don't own pjo, duh.

* * *

"So," Thalia began once they were seated at the park bench, "what's been going on with you?"

"Nothing really." Annabeth shrugged, eyes glued to the bag of chips Thalia had brought as a snack. "Can I have one?" she asked, flicking her eyes up at her friend.

"No," Thalia answered sarcastically, "I brought a family sized bag of Lays just for me. Yes, you can have one."

"Thanks." Annabeth smiled, her friend's familiar humor easily relaxing her. It felt like high school had never happened, like nothing had changed, like she hadn't suffered a chaotic public break up and been called into the office about breaking her boyfriend's nose. Like she'd never been kicked out of her house, or her mom hadn't abandoned them. It felt like they were kids again, playing in the park like they used to when they were naive.

"Annabeth," Thalia sighed at her friend's silence. "You're dating a movie star, you work with your ex boyfriend, at a hotel rifling with drama and celebrity gossip. So let me rephrase my question, what's up?"

"It really hasn't been that interesting of a week," Annabeth explained, staring distantly into the horizon. "Percy's in New York helping his mom, Luke and I are friends again, I have a rather unpleasant schedule for the next two weeks but I've already made some new friends, so there's a silver lining I suppose."

"Really?" Thalia directed a pointed look her way. From the icy blue of her eyes it was clear she wasn't accepting 'nothing' as an answer, so Annabeth reviewed the week, looking for an amusing story or fun anecdote. Then it hit her, it _had_ , been a eventual week. She'd been out dancing more times than was usual and might have been roofied on one of those unusual occasions.

"Two days ago," Annabeth started. She furrowed her brows as she reviewed her memory of that night but kept her eyes on the scenery around them, refusing to meet her friend's eyes. "I went dancing with Valeria, my new friend, and Piper and Luke a few others, and I think I was roofied."

"If your week was really boring, it's fine." Thalia shook her head, chuckling dubiously. "There's no need to lie."

"I'm not lying!" Annabeth almost yelled, turning towards her friend. "I was roofied! You can ask Piper. She practically had to carry me back."

"Shit," Thalia murmured, "who did it?"

"I have no idea," Annabeth told her, raking her fingers through her messy curls. "The only person I remember receiving a drink from was Luke, but Piper has assured me he didn't do it, in fact I'm almost positive he helped me get home in one piece."

"Luke?" Thalia knitted her brows together. Her eyes darted down to the ground and Annabeth noted the sudden sadness that glinted in the blue of her irises at the name. "He wouldn't do that- he wouldn't roof-"

"It's okay," Annabeth said quickly, halting her friend's blubbering. "I don't think he did it either."

"He wouldn't," Thalia repeated softly, not meeting the blonde's eyes.

"Did you two ever…" Annabeth wasn't sure what term to choose, "date?"

"No." Thalia laughed gently but there was no humor to the sound. "We were nothing."

"Thalia, I-I-" the blonde stuttered, "found photos of you two together." Her friend let out a soft giggle but it still lacked any warmth. "I know you two were something. You can tell me. I don't care. You weren't nothing-"

"That's just the problem though, isn't it?" Thalia picked up her head, looking up at the blonde with a grimace. "We weren't nothing… but I said we were." Her head dipped down again and she carded her stiff fingers through her short hair. "And then we were just that, _nothing_."

"Thalia." Annabeth tried to comfort her friend despite her own burning curiosity. She detested convoluted explanations, they were long verbal riddles she had to pick through on her own. "I'm sure you weren't nothing." She wasn't sure what she was supposed to say. She'd wasn't used to seeing this much emotion from Thalia. She'd expected a blunt honest answer instead of a complex description. "Tell me what happened."

Thalia was silent. Annabeth was almost sure she wasn't going to receive an answer when a weak whisper escaped her friend's lips. "When it started we were nothing." The inky haired girl paused, swallowing harshly. "But then, before we knew it, we weren't really nothing. We were nothing but we were _something_."

"Mhm," Annabeth hummed and nodded, indicating she was listening. She didn't totally understand but if her friend needed to be heard, and however perplexing the explanation was, she was all ears.

"He told me that- that- he liked me and _I_ -" she chuckled again, a harsh sound Annabeth was beginning to hate. "- _I_ told him we were nothing but we _weren't:_ we were something, and I knew that. Then, later, he told me he _liked_ me and I was afraid because I _liked_ him. It wasn't love, but it wasn't nothing, it was _something_."

"What happened?" Annabeth urged her on, slightly frightened by the light that had faded in Thalia's normally bright eyes.

"I was scared," she said simply. "I was scared and I was stupid and he was a jock and he was popular and he was liked and I was… nothing. I told him I didn't believe him. We fought and I told him we were nothing, I told him _he_ was nothing, not to me, not to free thinking, ever independent Thalia. He walked out. Then, the next day he didn't speak to me; the next day, we were nothing, and this time it truly was _nothing_."

"But-" Annabeth licked her lips, fighting the temptation to throw questions at her friend. "But you two have always been amicable with each other. I never noticed-" she didn't finish her comment, the remark caught in her throat as she realized she _had_ noticed.

She'd noticed when Luke's eyes would flick over her friends and spend an extra second on Thalia. She'd noticed when they'd been snuggling together and her boyfriend had pestered her with questions about her best friend. She'd noticed when they'd all go out to eat and his gaze would linger on her friend's lips.

"Did you two ever-" Annabeth wasn't sure how to put it lightly.

"Did I ever help him cheat?" Thalia finished for her. The blonde nodded tightly. "No." Thalia met her friend's eyes for the first time the entire story. "Our friendship was worth much more than a quick fuck with a guy who didn't love me anymore."

"He-" Annabeth pursed her lips, wondering if it was appropriate to inform her friend that _her_ ex boyfriend might have had feeling for her throughout their relationship. "I wouldn't be so sure."

"Why not?" Thalia grinned halfheartedly. "Did he call out my name while you two were doing it?"

"No!" Annabeth turned bright red and her friend laughed at her bashful reaction. At least the Thalia she knew was back. "It was nothing like that but… I wouldn't give up on him just yet."

Thalia nodded in acknowledgement, mulling the statement over in her head. "Maybe I'll surprise him with a visit." Her eyes flew over Annabeth, gauging her behavior. "If that's alright with you, of course?"

"You have my complete support." The blonde laughed. "But let's talk about something less somber for a bit."

"Right." Thalia smiled and Annabeth sighed in relief when she saw the expression tugged at both corner of her mouth and wrinkled her friend's eyes. "How's your famous boyfriend? You said he was in New York?"

"He's helping his mom with some… stuff." She waved her hand around vaguely, hoping Thalia wouldn't further question her on the subject. "He's good. In fact," Annabeth's eyes widened in realized and she fumbled for her phone in her bag, "I totally forgot to text him back."

Thalia groaned but Annabeth could tell she was fighting a smile. "Your boyfriend seems _awfully_ needy." The blonde only smirked in response. "I really don't think he'd die if he didn't hear from you every five minutes."

"It's been over an hour and, for your information," Annabeth said, putting long pausing between her words due to the fact she was simultaneously typing out her long delayed response to Percy. "He's wondering how _I'm_ feeling."

 **Sorry, Thalia was talking my ear off. I'm fine. I went to a bar and it got a little crazy.** She purposely left out the part where she was possibly -but most likely- roofied. She didn't want him to worry. He already had enough on his mind with his mom.

Annabeth looked up from her phone and faced her friend with a small smile. "Let's go do something fun! Where is the nearest amusement park?" she asked knowingly and watched a broad grin easily split Thalia's tight lipped expression.

"An hour," the darked haired girl informed her. "But it closes at eight so we can stay until late."

"Let's go then!" Annabeth exclaimed, jumping up, feigning excitement. It wasn't that she didn't _like_ rollercoasters, she truly found them fun, but the risks regarding some of the larger rides never left her mind and definitely put a damper her mood.

"Are you sure?" Thalia questioned with a tentative smile as she followed the blonde up and off the park bench. "It's not exactly your _favorite_ place."

"Nonsense!" Annabeth waved away her objections, willing to do anything to put a smile on her roommates face. She'd never seen her like this and in all honestly it absolutely terrified her. She was stunned that Thalia had been burned by the same guy she had. The thought that she was naive enough to believe Luke's declaration of love genuinely frightened her.

Annabeth and Thalia hopped into the car and began their hour long journey to the amusement park. As they drove down the long highway, she rested her head against the cool glass of the passenger side window. Thalia hummed softly to the songs playing on the radio and Annabeth found herself circling around the questions that newly plagued her mind.

If she'd been so naive before, who was to say she wasn't being just as gullible now?

Annabeth tried hard to put the doubts out of her mind, to focus on the landscape whizzing by; she even tried to count the bushes but nothing could do it, nothing could put her mind to rest. Her mind began to replay interactions, conversations, intimate moments, looking for any fault. Her heart sped up and she impulsively reached into her bag and retrieved her phone.

 **Okay, good. I was worried about you** , Percy had texted back.

 **When are you coming back?** She typed then, thinking it perhaps a bit insensitive, added, **I miss you.**

Annabeth placed her phone in her lap and waited for a telling buzz, tapping her fingernails anxiously against the screen. Thalia glanced over at the incessant ticking noise.

"Is everything okay?" she asked, flicking her eyes back to the road before her.

"Yeah." Annabeth nodded, not letting on much. Thalia examined her friend's closed expression with an arched brow and knew she wasn't going to get anything out of her, Annabeth was too adept at hiding her emotions.

"Okay," Thalia agreed, facing forward. She bit her lip, considering the blonde, when a familiar song came over the radio. "Hey, Annabeth!" She nudged her friend.

"Remember this song?"

"Yes." Annabeth nodded, an involuntary smile illuminating her face as the pleasant memories swept over her mind.

"Sing it with me!" Thalia ordered and leaned forward, turning up the sound loud enough their off tune yelling couldn't be heard. Lucky for Annabeth, it washed the issue out completely out of her brain; unlucky for her, it also drowned out the sound of a received message.

* * *

Their black SUV pulled to the small amusement park in a little over forty minutes. Annabeth and Thalia stepped out of the car, still arguing about the speed at which their car had been moving.

"Ten over is reasonable, I guess." Annabeth rolled her eyes, adjusting her small bag before retorting. "Twenty is just reckless. That speeding ticket would have cost you a fortune."

"But I talked my way out of it didn't I?" Thalia answered, a small smirk playing at her lips. She shut the car door in a loud slam and quickly strode towards the large theme park's bright green gates.

"I suppose," the blonde agreed with a shrug, running after her friend. "How much are the tickets?" she questioned as they neared the entrance.

"I'm paying," Thalia informed casually. She wove through the line dividers set up for a much larger capacity than the current state and whipped out her wallet, carding around for cash.

"No!" Annabeth objected wildly, chasing her. "You paid for my dress. I don't need to be even _more_ indebted to you than I already am."

"Fine." Thalia said half heartedly and stepped forward, towards the nearest open box office. The blonde rummaged through her bad as her friend paid, looking for her wallet. "Annabeth!" The dark haired girl snapped, startling Annabeth. "Give me your arm!" Her gray eyes darted around, confused, but she brought forward her arm nevertheless. Thalia took advantage of her shock and easily slapped a paid bracelet on her wrist.

"Wait!" Annabeth exclaimed when she realized what was happened and attempted to pull her arm away but it was too late; the ticket was paid for and the bracelet was securely attached to her skin. "Thalia! I thought we had a deal."

"Oh, Annie." Thalia laughed and continued forward, placing her bag in the metal detector a few feet away. "When will you ever learn? You should never trust me; you should never trust anyone."

Annabeth frowned, a deep furrow appearing across her brow as she followed, mimicking her friend's actions. She shook off another feeling of doubt and remembered to check her phone for Percy's reply.

"Are you girls ready to have the time of your lives?!" the middle age man working security asked excitedly, looking as if he were joining them. Annabeth's eyes widened at his chipper attitude. She wondered how long he'd been working.

"Must be his first day," Thalia muttered with a light chuckle, voicing the blonde's thoughts. "We're _stoked_!" she responded with a sarcastic lilt. Annabeth nudged her friend, there was no need to be rude.

"So stoked that we have to get going," Annabeth cut in quickly when she saw her friend's mouth open in order to elicit another snarky comment, no doubt. "Let's go!" she laughed at Thalia's defeated expression and tugged on her arm, pulling her along behind her as she darted into the park.

They spent the rest of the day riding every ride in the park. Annabeth profusely protested the Dark Panther, an enormous silver and black roller coaster, but Thalia eventually convinced her friend to ride. By the end of the day, they'd ridden a total of sixteen rides. Annabeth, though she'd objected to almost every ride, had to admit she'd had fun. It reminded her of old times, when she had no worries, when she'd go on weekend trips without thinking twice.

Once they were buckled in and had finally recovered from the stomach tumbling loops of their last ride, Thalia started the car. With enough disregard to put Annabeth on the edge of her seat, she smoothly pulled out of the parking lot. Thalia turned up the music, and together they began the trek back to Hotel Escape.

"I had fun," Annabeth whispered softly, leaning against the window. She watched the words fog over a small patch of the cold glass window. She knew Thalia hadn't heard her though she remained silent nonetheless, restraining herself from repeating the sentiment, as if trying to coherently verbalize a feeling could make it real.

Thalia heard a song she liked and, similar to their trip over, she reached forward and turned up the music. The familiar lyrics washing over her, bringing her mind back to her job, to how miserable she was without Percy. Suddenly, she remembered her boyfriend was probably waiting on her reply.

Annabeth unzipped her small bag and combed through the disorganized mix of items before finding the cool flat surface she easily recognized as her phone. She extracted it and closed the bag, throwing it by her feet as they still had 30 minutes to their trip.

 **I'm not sure, I still have some business to wrap up back here.** He'd sent the text over six hours ago. Annabeth bit the inside of her cheek as she read over it, something about the words just _irked_ her. 'I still have _some business_ to wrap up.' He couldn't be more specific? She was his girlfriend after all. Annabeth took a second to yawn before typing out her response.

 **Some business?**

Annabeth sat back in her seat and sent the message. It was well within her rights to want an answer, especially after he'd been at a party instead of assisting his mother. She closed her eyes and felt her consciousness slipping away. She hadn't been this tired in a while. She felt a slight buzz in her lap and took a deep langous breath to regain the energy she would need to read and respond to Percy.

 **Errands, helping my mom, I met with some producers, just everyday movie star stuff.**

Annabeth frowned as she read the text through heavy lids. Under different circumstances it might have been funny, but she was much too tired to humor him right now.

 **You were out partying yesterday tho.** Annabeth set the phone back down and settled back into a comfortable sleep sitting position in the lowered leather seat. She was just about to fall into a deep sleep when she was rudely awakened by Thalia.

"Annabeth!" she momentarily took her eyes off the road to shake her friend. "Your phone keeps buzzing."

"Ugh," the blonde groaned. "Let me sleep!" she snapped and shoved Thalia's hand off her.

"Wow." Thalia laughed. "Someone's cranky." She turned her attention back to the road before her but continued to lightly nudge her friend with her elbow. Annabeth groaned once again at the repeated interruption but sat up nonetheless.

"Where's my phone?" she asked, rubbing at the corner of her eyes. Thalia pointed. Annabeth sighed and opened the device, looking at the five texts she'd received.

 **It was a** _ **surprise**_ **party**. His first text had come only two minutes after hers. **Besides,** he'd written next, **we talked that night and you said you didn't care**. The rest of the messages came in rapid succession, the first delivered at 8:48 pm. **Are you actually mad?** 8:49, **I thought we were good.** 8:50 was the last one, **I miss you too.**

Annabeth felt her heart swell at his words, but the doubt that had been boiling in the out of her stomach still remained, eating away at the hope that sped up her heart.

 **I don't remember that** , the blonde texted quickly without thinking but by the time she realized what she'd said it was too late.

 **What?** He sent back. **What do you mean you don't remember? Were you** _ **that**_ **drunk?**

 **No** , Annabeth lied… or didn't lie; she still wasn't totally sure what had happened that night. **I was confused. I just remembered.**

 **What's wrong then?**

 **What's wrong is that I miss you too much. This long distance thing is kicking my ass, Percy. I miss you everyday and I don't know how much longer I'll last.** Annabeth felt hot tears prick at the corner of her eyes. She swallowed past a lump in her throat and forcefully threw her phone into her lap, forgetting Thalia was beside her.

"Are you okay?" the dark haired girl questioned. "What did he say?"

"Nothing," Annabeth mumbled, crossing her arms across her chest. "I think I'm just- just tired."

"Sure," Thalia replied dubiously with an eye roll. The blonde harrumphed loudly at her friend's disbelief and was just about to shoot her with a telling glare when her phone rang. They both glanced down at the device then back up at each other, icy blue meeting gray. Annabeth picked up her phone and slowly brought it to her ear.

"Hello?" she answered almost hesitantly. She was desperate to hear Percy's voice but had no idea what would happen when she did. Would she burst out in tears? Would she scream hysterically? Would she laugh like a lunatic? Would she remain completely and utterly silent? She never got the chance to find out as Thalia slyly plucked the phone out of the friend's unsuspecting hands.

"Hi Percy!" Thalia greeted with a falsely bright tone. Annabeth thought she heard some unintelligible mumbling on the other line but she couldn't be sure. "Have you forgotten my warning? Because from what I've seen you've hurt Annabeth. I think we both know what that means."

"Thalia give me the phone back," she demanded, attempting to wrench it from her friend's steel grip.

"I think you have-" the dark haired girl continued, overlooking her friend. She took her remaining hand off the wheel in order to fend off the determined blonde.

"Thalia!" Annabeth wrapped her small fingers around the phone, trying to pull Thalia's off one by one.

"I think we're going to have to call you back, Percy." Thalia laughed into the phone but Annabeth regained possession before she managed to hang up. The car swerved slightly but neither of them seemed to notice.

"Percy?" Annabeth breathed hopefully, pressing the device to her ear.

"Annabeth." His voice was warm, welcoming, it felt like home, and it was the last comforting sound Annabeth heard before everything went black.

* * *

"What did she say?" Piper questioned, a frown creasing her previously tentative smile.

"I- I don't know," Percy replied, bringing the phone down from his ear and staring at it. His heart was in his throat as he slowly turned towards Piper, the sounds of screeching metal replaying on an endless loop that he knew would forever haunt him. His blue green eyes were swimming in emotion: confusion, hurt, fear, there were too many to precisely pinpoint. "Shit."

* * *

a/n: look, I get it okay. I'm the biggest asshole ever (not counting several congressmen, a certain president and a few other politicians) but don't worry everyone. I'm back, like _actually_ back, for good. I've just finished the next chapter and am half way through 64 so ya'll can expect quick updates, at least once a week. My ib tests are officially over, I'm all caught up in school. The only thing holding me back now is my upcoming SAT but I'm sure I'll manage it *nervous hysterical laughter*

Anyway, yes, I will be posting more frequently, I promise. Also, life hack: I'm a weak willed person, if you review I will mostly likely post the next chapter incredibly soon, like 2 day updates like the good old days when jr year wasn't as hard.


	63. Chapter 63

a/n: I asked for reviews and since ya'll pulled through I'll do the same.

beware tho, my beta has not read through this so it might be riddled with mistakes.

disclaimer: no ownership.

* * *

"Did they say where they were?" Piper questioned, her eyes desperately darting around the room, as if something within might hold the answer she sought. Around them, the room was clean, organized, just like Piper had left it in preparation for the surprise. But, due to its state, there was no way of knowing where Annabeth had gone, what her plans for the day had been.

"They didn't say anything." Percy swallowed, trying to control his breathing. A cold ball of dread was seeping through his stomach, clawing its way into his heart and up his throat so he couldn't speak evenly.

"How can you know then?" Piper demanded, standing up abruptly. She began to pace frantically around the room, her expectant yet worried expression direct at her roommate's boyfriend.

"I heard it, Piper," Percy stressed, trying to keep a calm exterior. It was difficult when under the surface he was anything but. "I heard the crash. I heard the horrible screech of metal against metal, the sound of a brake squeaking and then the line went dead."

The brunette was silent for a moment, forcefully raking her fingers through her hair, ignoring the sharp pain that shot through her scalp as she roughly broke knots. "Fuck!" she yelled finally, voicing Percy's sentiment exactly.

"What do we do?" Percy asked, staring up at her. "This has never happened to me before."

"And you think it's happened to me?" Piper bit out, whipping her head towards him. "Sorry," she apologized with a shake of her head. She took a seat on the bed next to Percy and considered her options. She dug her fingers into her scalp, massaging her roots as she picked through memories, searching for a shred of hope.

"Do you have any idea where they might have gone? Do they have a favorite activity?" Percy queried, tilting his head slightly to face Piper.

"No." Piper shook her head. "Thalia liked adventure. She would say, 'if you live life in a routine, you're not truly living.' Wise words, I guess." She chuckled but there was no humor in her tone. "But it meant she'd never eat at the same place twice, never see the same movie twice, never do _anything_ at the risk of her life becoming _average_."

"Fuck." Percy dropped his head and clenched his fists, repeating her earlier words but with a little less bite and a little more defeat. "Is there anyway to track her call? To track her location?"

"I- I don't think so." Piper racked her brain, thinking back on the past. Suddenly, she remembered. "Percy!" she exclaimed, a balloon of hope rising in chest. "I have Annabeth's apple ID!" She was almost crying with joy and, though Percy had quite connected all the dots yet, he knew she would not rejoice without reason therefore rewarded her with a grateful smile. "Thank the gods for Thalia's incessant pranking!" Piper breathed shallowly as she anxiously fumbled with her phone, looking through her photos for the screenshot that would save the day. "Last year," the brunette began to explain. "Thalia had the dumb idea to steal Annabeth's apple ID and leave her computer settings in complete disarray the night before Annabeth's big presentation at work. I don't know if I've ever seen Annabeth more angry but, I guess it was worth it, if it led to this, it was well worth it." She finished the story just as she finished typing Annabeth's email and password into findmyiphone in order to track her location.

"What do you need me to do?" Percy offered. His fingers were still clenched into tight fists on either side of his hips and he was sure if he didn't find something useful to do his nails would permanently carve crescent moon into his palms.

"Get the police on the phone," Piper instructed as the phone application zoomed in on the location of Annabeth's cell phone. Percy nodded and scrambled to call 911.

"911 what's your emergency?" the dispatcher asked at the second ring.

"My girlfriend and her friend," Percy rambled. "They've been in an accident. You need to send an ambulance. You need to make sure they're okay. They're not answering the phone. I heard the crash. You need to make sure they're okay. You need to make sure _she's_ okay," he added weakly at the end.

"Calm down, sir," the woman on the other end directed. "Can you specify the location of the accident?"

"Along the Antelope Valley Freeway!" Piper snatched the phone from Percy's fingers. "The zipcode is 93510. The coordinates are 35 latitude, -188 longitude."

"Uh-" the female dispatcher paused and Piper could hear keys rapidly being pressed in the background, it was clear the woman was not used to receiving exact coordinates. The brunette passed the back to Percy and leapt into the room's small kitchenette, grabbing her bag and opening the room door.

"I'll be back!" she whispered urgently to Percy.

"Help is on the way," the dispatcher assured him just as the door closed behind Piper. "Can I get a name for this call?"

"Percy," the raven haired boy informed her, her earlier declaration only providing him minor relief. "Percy Jackson."

"Thank you for your call, Mr. Jackson," she said and Percy quickly hung up, unsure how long he'd be able to maintain an even remotely okay demeanor.

"Goddammit, Mary!" he heard Piper's normally delicate voice boom in the hallway. He followed her outside to see her yelling at one of her neighbors in order to get access to her car. "The next time you need me to lie to our supervisor about your not-so-sick sick days, I'm gonna tell him the truth. I'm gonna-"

"Piper!" he cut in, pulling her back by the elbow, successfully interrupting her frightening rant. "I have a car! Let's go!"

"Oh." The fact hadn't dawned on Piper. Her frantic state still caused the issue to become ten times more complex than it needed to but she followed Percy nonetheless, running after him as he made his way to his car.

The car ride over there was completely silent except for a choked sob on Piper's part and a few helpful directions from Piper's phone. Despite the fact that Percy was driving well over the speed limit, by the time they arrived the police and ambulances were already wrapping up. The pair stopped the car in the middle of the highway, just before the area that had been sectioned off by police.

"Is she okay?" Percy demanded to the first officer he saw. "Is she okay?" he repeated, louder this time, when the man in blue looked confused.

"We're the one's who called about the accident," Piper clarified quickly. "Are they okay? The two girls in the black SUV?"

"They were beat up pretty badly," the policeman told them, his eyes trained on the brunette the whole time. "We already put them in ambulances and are driving back to the nearest emergency hospital."

"Will they be okay?" Piper asked Percy's question once again, her voice soft, on the verge of breaking.

"I'm sorry." The officer pursed his lips. "I don't know and I don't like to make promises I can't keep." Percy and Piper both sucked in a breath, both of them trying to control their heart rates. "I will tell you, however," the man in uniform added, seeing their faces, "that you two did a good thing. They might have been out here for hours if it hadn't been for your call."

"Thank you." Percy nodded. The officer presented them with a tight lipped smile and walked back to group of police analyzing the wreckage that was Thalia's SUV.

Tears were now streaming down Piper's face, leaving a trail of red where they passed. Percy felt a similar sentiment and hot tears burned his eyes. They took a second to _try_ to compose himself but for the most part they both failed. Together they walked back to Percy's car. Just before reaching it, though the pair had never been especially close, Piper turned towards him and wrapped her arms around him. She was much taller than Annabeth, he noted with an icy stab to the heart, as he, in turn, folded her into his arms, incredibly grateful for the comfort.

* * *

The drive to the hospital was no less silent than the previous. Piper leaned her head back against the seat's headrest and silently allowed the tears to tirelessly flow down her cheeks, making her taste salt every now and then. The salt lightly dried against her cheeks until there was no salt in her body left to cry, but the tears still fell. Percy grip around the steering wheel was dangerously tight and only tightened as time moved on; under different circumstances he might have worried his fingers might snap off but not today, not when Annabeth was in the hospital all because of a phone call _he_ had initiated. His short nails dug into the leather of the wheel, tearing imprints into the fabric.

When they arrived at the hospital it was late and neither Percy nor Piper were Annabeth's legal guardian's therefore were forced to wait until they had contacted the proper authorities. Piper knew that meant Annabeth's father and worried how long they'd there, waiting in the hospital lounge. Disregarding the calls she made to inform first Jason then the hotel of the current situation, the night was quiet, deadly quiet really. Piper curled in a ball, holding her knees to her chest, as she waited in the uncomfortable waiting room seat. Percy rested his elbows on his knees, his fingers knotted tightly in his hair, as he prayed the gods he barely believed in that his girlfriend would be okay.

It wasn't until an hour later, when Thalia resurfaced, that Percy was awoken from his daze. Jason had arrived just a few minutes earlier and followed the doctor into the medical hallway to discuss the details of Thalia's injuries. Piper went with him. Percy stayed. When the couple returned they informed Percy that Thalia had suffered minor injuries and would have no permanent damage; a statement which he countered with a question.

"How's Annabeth?"

"They think she's fine," Jason replied, his eyes downcast. "They can't be sure though. She hasn't woken up yet." Piper's reached for her boyfriend's hand, interlocking their fingers in a display of affection.

"Why can't we see her?" Percy demanded, his tired eyes shooting up to the nurses all gossiping behind the receptionist desk.

"She's a minor," Piper explained. "They called her immediate family but her mother didn't reply and her father chose not to drive down here."

"So?" Percy laughed but the sound lacked any humor. "What are we supposed to do now? Just wait here until she'd healthy enough to walk back out? What if she never does? What if I never see her again?

"Percy!" Piper interrupted his train of thought, hoping to calm him down. "They said the damage is most likely only temporary. They think she'll be out by the end of the week."

"I have to see her." Percy shook his head, unable to even consider the infuriating situation in which he and Annabeth were separated by a mere hospital wall. He began to angrily stride towards the nurses who had not stopped whispering.

"Stop." Jason stuck out an arm, obstructing Percy's passage. "Let me call her father and see what I can do."

"Okay," Percy agreed tentatively, no longer attempting to push past the icy eyes blonde. "But make it quick. If I'm not allowed in there by eight tomorrow I'm gonna either bribe some doctors and break down some doors."

"I don't see why you would need to do _both_ ," Jason muttered but picked up his phone despite the comment, turning away from Percy to make the call. Piper gave his hand a reassuring squeeze before letting go to join Percy in the waiting room again. She sat down next to the distressed looking teenager, suddenly struck by the extent to where he and Annabeth's relationship had progressed.

"You really love her, huh?" she questioned shlyly, peeking up at him through her dark lashes.

"Yeah." Percy nodded, shutting his eyes and smothering his face in his hands. "I really fucking do."

"I didn't realize," Piper remarked thoughtfully, her eyes tracing the gray lines of the carpet. "I thought it was just a fling. I guess I thought she was just exaggerating." Percy didn't respond, the words only slightly painful. "You're her real first love, you know?" Piper continued despite his lack of reply. "She thought she loved Luke. She didn't. I could tell. She loves you, though. I was scared. I thought you might be playing with her emotions but no, you love her too."

Percy frowned at Piper's contemplative mumbling, catching every word; they hurt him more than they had before, pushing on his chest with the weight of a hundred pounds. "I love her… a lot," Percy agreed, his lis quirking into a pitiful half smile at the memory of the first time he'd said the words, of the way she'd run away then run right back, apologetic and endearingly hysterical.

"Have you two discussed after-"

"Okay," Jason interrupted Piper's question. "I talked to Annabeth's father and he said he is going transfer medical authority to Thalia."

"What does that mean?" Percy asked, standing up suddenly, rushing towards the blonde, as if stepping closer would result in better news.

"It means that if Thalia says you can visit her, you can visit her," Jason explained. "I'll go talk to her now."

"Thank you." Percy swallowed harshly, breathing shallowly and Jason clenched his jaw and nodded, unexpectedly speechless at the emotion swimming in his green blue eyes. He turned quickly and returned to where he'd been discussing the details of Thalia's case with the one of the on call nurse.

* * *

The minute Percy stepped into Annabeth's hospital room he gasped, his eyes rapidly taking in the sight before him. Annabeth was lying stoically in the bed, the only movement her slow rise and fall of her chest. He observed the sickly white color of her skin, barely contrasting the white bandage that was wrapped around her head. Her blonde hair was tangled and dirty, yet it still spread across the ivory pillow to form a golden halo that framed the palpitating image. As she slept, her face was perfectly relaxed. Her lips formed a loose smile that tugged at something in his chest and filled him with a sort of sweet sorrow. Her eyelashes, lightened by the constant sun, were surprisingly dark against the pale canvas that was her skin.

Percy stumbled forward, reaching for her small hand as the nurse who had opened the door for him began to explain her state. He knew the information was crucial but Jason and Piper would decipher the crucial details from the fluff, and besides, he could barely pay attention when Annabeth's familiar soft warmth was seeping into his skin. Despite the distraction he caught a few words here and there: "Lucky … Father … Strong … Short … Crash … Difficult …" and, then he heard the words he'd been waiting for a medical professional to tell him all night. "She's okay," the nurse informed him. "She's a fighter."

"I know," Percy managed before the nurse, noting his demeanor, decided to leave him be, casting a friendly look Piper and Jason's way on her way out.

"Gods," Piper muttered, nudging Jason's hand from her waist to approach the hospital bed. "How could this happen? She's normally so cautious."

"Thalia told me," Jason began, more for Percy's benefit as he and Piper had already heard the story from the driver, "that Annabeth was falling asleep but kept waking up to text Percy. Then he called her, and, as a gag, Thalia answered the phone but in the process she let go of the wheel and, next thing she knew, they were in a ditch along the side of the road."

Percy head dropped, kissing Annabeth's hand gently at the confirmation that it had been _his_ call that had caused the accident. He felt so guilty. He had no idea how to fix this.

"This isn't your fault," Piper told Percy, as if sensing his distress. "Thalia is a reckless driver. It's never resulted in anything but a few tickets before, nothing like this, no one ever got hurt."

"I don't know what to do," Percy said honestly, voicing his thoughts.

"Just be here for her when she wakes up," Jason told him, clapping a comforting hand down on his shoulder. Percy nodded, vowing not to leave her for a second. He would never leave her again.

* * *

a/n: I know it's a little short but at least Percy's back and you know Annabeth's okay.

p.s. for all of you waiting up on funny business it's coming soon, probably tonight. I promise.


	64. Chapter 64

a/n: Thank you forever to cRawr for being the best beta ever.

disclaimer: I own nothing.

Percy squirmed as the fire in his dream inched closer and closer to him. He could feel the heat of it tickling his fingertips, but the funny feeling rapidly became uncomfortable; before he knew it, he was burning, going up in flames. Percy's eyes shot open, and he was immediately blinded by hot sunlight coming in from the window. He stepped away from the source of his irritation and, with a quick gaze around the room, remembered exactly where he was.

Percy settled back into the stiff chair below the window, groaning quietly as he felt the kink in his neck that had formed overnight. He kept his eyes glued to Annabeth, his arms crossed. He was barely breathing, watching her: waiting for a twitch, a tremble, anything to indicate that something was wrong. He was so focused on the blonde peacefully sleeping before him that he didn't notice when the doctor entered the room.

"Who are you?" the blonde doctor questioned sharply, her eyes skimming the chart on her clipboard.

"Excuse me?" Percy clarified, still reeling from the surprise of her voice, knocking him out of his daze.

"Who are you?" the doctor repeated, brushing her ponytail off her shoulder. "I need to know whether or not I can discuss Annabeth…" her blue eyes darted back to the medical report before her, "Chase's medical information."

"Yes!" Percy assured her, sitting up abruptly. "I'm her brother."

"Brother?" she repeated, dubiously eyeing his appearance.

"Step brother," he corrected with what he hoped was a charming smile.

"Fine." She shook her head lightly. "I had hoped to review her medical history with her father, but since he decided his daughter didn't deserve an attentive parent, I guess you'll have to do." She continued, moving straight into Annabeth's tidings without pausing. "We ran several tests when she arrived. We needed to check for the basic allergies, relevant conditions, and anything else. The results were mostly negative, which is _good_ ," she added quickly. "People are often confused by that. She suffered minor injuries, just a few cuts and bruises, a slight concussion, nothing too serious."

Percy resisted the urge to snort; from what _he'd_ heard, concussions were never _not_ serious. He figured it would be a bad move to anger Annabeth's doctor though, so he kept silent.

"Everything indicated she was healthy for the most part, however, we did find trace amounts of Rohypnol." She arched a brow and directed a questioning gaze at Percy, as though he'd know exactly what she was talking about.

"What's that?" he asked with concern, her expression making him feel dumb.

"It's commonly referred to as the date rape drug," she told him matter-of-factly, balancing her clipboard against her hip. "It was in your step sister's blood and, as the drug usually leaves the victim's blood relatively quickly, it must have been a recent dosage."

"Wait, what?" Percy frowned, knitting his brows together. "Annabeth was roofied?" he rephrased, trying to stay calm.

"Yes," the doctor nodded, glancing over at Percy's sleeping girlfriend. "It's not surprising that she didn't tell you. Rape victims often feel uncomfortable facing their male family members."

"But we're…" Percy watched his words, making sure he didn't give anything away, "close." His eyes sunk to the floor while he carefully reviewed his and Annabeth's last few conversations, but his contemplation were quickly put to rest as he registered the second part of her statement. "Wait, rape?"

"We haven't run any such examinations yet." the doctor quickly explained, seeing Percy's frantic eyes. "However, considering the drug, it's a likely assumption." Percy was speechless, too afraid to make even a sound. "Like I said though, it's just a preliminary indication, nothing final or concrete yet."

"Okay," Percy said in barely more than a whisper, dragging his hands up and down his face. "Let me know."

"I will," replied the doctor and promptly exited the room, leaving Percy alone to his thoughts. Why hadn't Annabeth told him? Getting raped, let along roofied, was a major issue, about as major as it gets really. Did she not trust him enough to tell him if something had gone wrong while he was in New York? What kind of boyfriend did that make him?

"Fuck!" Percy clenched his fist in his lap, anger towards the man who did this to his girlfriend boiling through his veins, anger towards Annabeth for not telling him, anger towards her friends for not saying something-

"I said no!" Piper snapped as she and Jason walked through the doorway and into the hospital room. Percy's head whipped up at the sight and he immediately stood, heat rushing to every extremity of his body.

"Hey Percy," Jason greeted casually, blue eyes straying towards Annabeth. "We brought you some breakfast. We figure you hadn't-"

"Why didn't you tell me?!" Percy demanded.

"What?" Jason furrowed his brows, one outstretched hand still offering the dark haired boy a cheap to go box.

"The doctor just came in here and told me that they found propanol or ripenol or tylenol or something in her system, and I didn't hear shit from either of you!" Jason continued to look confused and flashed his girlfriend a questioning look. "Do you know-" Percy continued angrily, rapidly advancing forward, "how _horrid_ it feels to have a doctor tell you that your girlfriend was roofied, was _raped_?!" He gripped Jason by the collar of his shirt, meaningly lifting it up, breathing heavily, the hint of a tear shining the blue green of his eyes.

"Percy!" Piper hissed, pushing him hard in the chest and shoving him away. "He doesn't know! She asked me not to tell anyone!"

"But you knew?" Percy questioned, his voice wavering dangerously. "You knew and you let me plan a _fucking_ surprise for her. You helped me _lie_ to her and mislead her to believe I was staying in New York when she actually _needed_ me. She _fucking needed_ me!" Piper watched with pursed lips as Percy crumbled into the seat beneath the windows, cradling his head.

"It's not as bad as it sounds," Piper explained gently, slipping out of Jason's protective grasp as she stepped forward to stand before him. "She was roofied but she realized it. She told me and we went home. Nothing else happened. I kept her safe."

"But _I_ should have been there. _I_ should have kept her safe," Percy seethed, his voice teetering between angry and broken, but eventually falling for the latter.

"You can't be everywhere at once," Jason leaned against the doorframe and watched as Piper comforted him. She was great with people, it had always been a talent of hers, it was one of the many traits that had initially drawn him to her. "You had to help your mom. You had to be in New York."

Percy nodded, only slightly uncomfortable with the knowledge Annabeth had disclosed about his trip. He slowly lifted his head to gaze at his girlfriend, the girl he loved. He bit his lip, his eyes skimming her entire body, looking for _anything_ and, this time, instead of nothing, he saw her fingers twitch and her eyelid begin to flutter.

"I think she's waking up." His voice was barely audible but the pair followed his amazed stare and saw it. The room and all the people within it seemed to disappear for a second, only Percy and Annabeth remained as he watched her awaken. In that moment, Percy determined that her gray eyes were the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. He felt the enormous weight that had been hanging off his shoulders for the last few hours significantly lessen and couldn't help but smile.

"Percy," Annabeth spoke, her voice hoarse, and he let out out a shuddering breath at the sound, briefly wondering how long he'd been holding it in. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here for you," Percy told her, resisting the urge to wrap her in his arms and promise never to leave her again. "I'm here for you."

* * *

"Why didn't you tell me?" Percy questioned, hurt glittering in the blue of his irises. He squeezed her hand in a comforting gesture. "You can tell me anything."

"I know," Annabeth replied, biting her lip as she glanced up at him with guilty eyes. Piper and Jason had long ago left the room so that the couple could discuss the issues that were pressing Percy's mind. After the dark haired boy had successfully managed to shoo away the pushy doctors they'd begun. "It's not that I don't _trust_ you," she explained. "I was going to tell you eventually. I just didn't want to worry you-"

"Annabeth-" Percy started, his voice pleading and his brow furrowed.

"No, Percy," she raised a finger, pressing it softly to his lips. "Let me finish _please_." Percy bobbed his head in acknowledgement, swallowing back the apologetic words tickling at his throat. "You were in New York with your mother and I didn't want to burden you. Nothing serious happened. I was out with friends and someone slipped something into my drink so I went home. I'm perfectly fine. I don't blame you in the slightest."

Percy was silent for a few seconds after her confession but his eyes spoke magnitudes. They were faded over with sadness and fatigue, lined with frustrations and a bit of relief.

"You can speak now," Annabeth whispered with a shy smile.

"I understand why you didn't tell me," Percy spoke slowly, calculating his words to expertly attempt to describe the feelings coursing through him at the moment. "But in the future I want you to know you can tell me anything. You will never, _could_ never, be a burden to me. I want to know everything that's happening to you all the time." Annabeth could barely hide her blush and her eyes quickly averted, dashing around the room, his frank words making her shift beneath the white sheets of the hospital bed. "I love you. That's what loving someone _is_. It's wanting to be with them all the time, wanting to know about them all the time. It's never getting tired and calling it quits, _no matter what_."

"Percy," Annabeth muttered softly, realizing where this conversation was going. "What are trying to say?"

"We-" he licked his lips, "we should talk about what happened before the crash, what you _said_ before the crash.

"I didn't mean it!" Annabeth said quickly, regretting the suggestions she'd made, no matter how rational they had seemed at the time. His presence was intoxicating, being around him made her dizzy and emotional, unable to reason the way she had for so long. "I- I was just feeling lonely and frustrated, and I thought you were staying in New York and-"

"Annabeth," Percy quieted her gently with a kind smile. "We can talk about it later."

"Are you sure?" Annabeth questioned timidly, pulling her bottom lip back between her teeth.

"Yes." Percy nodded. "Right now, all I want to do is _be_ with you. If talking about this makes you nervous then it can wait until you're better." She still looked apprehensive so he bent down and pressed a sweet kiss to her forehead. "Okay?"

"Okay," she agreed, her eyes fluttered shut as Percy trailed slow dry kissed down her cheek, along her jaw, down her neck. When his lips touched her clavicle she couldn't take it anymore and was roughly gripped his hair, pulling his lips to hers for a searing kiss, the first one they'd shared in _so_ long.

* * *

"I'm perfectly aware of your opinion," Piper said with an imploring understanding voice that Jason found partially infuriating but he was, for the most part, appreciative of her constantly kind demeanor. It was amazing, the way _goodness_ seemed to flow through her veins, never stopping, never faltering, always managing to arise in times of stress. "But I think it would only aggravate the situation more. There's no need for her to feel worse about a situation she has already blamed herself for."

"I know," her boyfriend agreed halfheartedly. "It just made sense at the time." He shrugged and pushed open the door to Annabeth's room. His icy blue eyes caught the couple just as his ears registered Piper's admirative sigh next to him.

Percy and Annabeth were lying in the hospital bed, intertwined in a fashion that, even Jason had to admit, was adorable. As the large blonde took a few steps towards the bed he noted more details that begrudgingly warmed his heart, not that he'd ever admit it, of course.

Although Annabeth's bottom half was fully submerged under the crisp hospital blanket, she had still someone managed to wrap her legs around Percy's. The dark haired boy's arms were thrown around the blonde's waist, his grasp proactively tight even in his sleep. Annabeth's head was neatly tucked under Percy's, his lips perfectly position on her forehead, pulsing with a tender forgotten kiss. His slow breaths tickling her skin and slight lifting her wispy curls each exhale.

"They're so cute!" Piper squealed next to him, breaking his from his observational trance.

"They are." Jason couldn't help the smile that slid onto his lips at the sight of the content curve of Annabeth's lips, a sign she was _truly_ happy. The thought made his heart pound faster than normal and his pulse surge. She was happy, _finally_.

"Not as cute as us though," Piper teased, wanting to lighten the mood. She tilted her head up to meet her boyfriend's eyes.

"Never." He grinned and folded her into his arms, encasing them both in the loving warmth that Annabeth had finally found.

* * *

When Percy woke up, late that same night, both Jason and Piper had left the room. Annabeth was still asleep so Percy slowly crawled out of the bed, careful as not to wake her. Once out of the bed he stretched his stiff neck and ruffled his tousled hair. He turned his sleep dazed eyes towards his girlfriend and took in the delightful sight of her relaxed smile, consequently smiling himself. He shook his head softly, biting his lips, as he wondered how seeing her even slightly happy could make him feel so overjoyed.

Percy cast one last loving glance Annabeth's way before exiting the room and looking for a nurse to inform him of the blonde's state. He searched for a while, tapping several attendees shoulders only to have them glare his way, before finally finding one he recognized. She was staring intently at her computer screen, a grin plastered on her face.

"Hey," he greeted with a friendly wave.

"Hi," the indian nurse he'd been speaking to earlier piped, standing abruptly and leaning her body across the counter. It occurred to Percy that she was purposely obstructing his view, hiding something from him, but he figured it was unimportant and easily dismissed it.

"I don't know if you briefed my friend's on Annabeth's Chase's case, but I was asleep so I was hoping you'd review it for me." Percy finished and heard some snickering to his left. He glanced over his shoulder, a brow raised inquisitively, but only saw a pair of female doctors. They both had blue masks covering their mouth so Percy was unable to conclusively find the source of the laugh.

"Of course." Percy turned back to the nurse before him as she finally answered, having visibly cleared her computer. "What did you say your girlfriend's name was?" she asked, barely looking up.

"Anna- wait, I never told you she was my girlfriend," Percy pointed out, his suspicion clearly illustrated through his tone.

"My apologies," the nurse said, sounding a little _too_ sorry. "It is awful for me to be so presumptuous. What is your relation to the patient and what is her name?"

"Uh," Percy paused, considering the interaction before him with a skeptical lens. He thought of Annabeth and her wishes and figured it would be best to move forward with caution, it was what she wanted, after all. "She's my good friend," Percy told the nurse, repeating the lies he'd told the press at the gala. "Her name is Annabeth Chase and she was in a car accident yesterday night- well, this morning, I guess."

"Mhm." The nurse nodded, typing way rapidly at her computer. Percy's discovery raised himself onto his tiptoes and attempted to see over the ledge, but the nurse once again positioned her body in such a way that he found himself unable to view her desktop.

He sighed in resignation and backed down, taking the time to check out the waiting room. He hadn't been paying much attention to it when he'd been initially waiting for Annabeth's diagnosis, the stakes had been to high and he'd had much too much on his mind to even try to comprehend anything other than his girlfriend's state.

There glum gray room was fully carpeted and lined with dull chairs which Percy could attest were uncomfortable as hell. In the four corners of the room there were tv's, playing the daily news; one was tuned into the local station, the other to the national service. As he drew back from the physical attributes of the room he couldn't help but skim over the families all sitting, waiting. All of their faces were creased with worry and emotional distress. Percy swallowed past a lump in his throat and averted his gaze, the dark emotion conveyed in their facial features and distances was one he knew too well.

"Okay," the nurse alerted him, breaking him from his observation. "I pulled up her file."

"Finally," Percy muttered under his breath, quickly becoming impatient.

"What did you say?" the nurse questioned, genuine confusion gliding across her face.

"Nothing," Percy assured her. "What does her file say? How long does she need to stay?"

"Oh," the nurse frowned, her brows creasing and she leaned down to read the text on the screen of her computer. "Ms. Chase is fine. We ran several tests and they all came back normal but we would like to keep her overnight, just to be safe."

"Okay," Percy agreed in a heartbeat, willing to do anything to ensure Annabeth's safety after he'd been so close to losing her. "What time tomorrow?"

"She will be free to go after noon but unless she wants to be charged for an extra day she should leave well before two o'clock." The nurse sat back down in her seat, expecting the conversation to have finished at that but Percy had just been struck with an idea. He knew Annabeth wouldn't like it but he couldn't have care less at the moment.

"Who's paying Ms. Chase's medical bills?" Percy inquired innocently, referring to Annabeth by her surname in order to appear less attached, more distinguished perhaps. He was pretty sure nurses weren't supposed to share that sort of information, but this nurse didn't seem like the brightest bird.

"She's paying out of pocket," she replied simply, raising her eyes to meet Percy's, confirming his perception of her.

"That's incorrect," he told her matter of factly. "I'm supposed to be paying her bills."

"Oh," the nurse directed her gaze back to the computer screen before her, trying to figure out why there had been a mistake. "It doesn't say that anywhere here."

"Your information appears to be _incorrect_ then," Percy supplied confidently, his acting coming in handy. "I, Percy Jackson, am paying her medical bills."

"Okay, sir," the nurse agreed. "I'll draw up the contracts right now but first I need to see your financial information and some identification."

"Not a problem," Percy grinned, reaching into his back pocket for his wallet. He flipped through its contents and handed her his cards, content with having been able to solve at least _one_ of Annabeth's problems.

a/n: finals coming up next week but I'll be updating after that.


	65. Chapter 65

a/n: apologies for the drawn out delay. I will expand upon it at the end.

disclaimer: I don't own anything

* * *

"Hey," Annabeth muttered when Percy nudged her awake.

"Hey," he replied in a whisper, a soft smile illuminating his face. "How are you feeling?" He bent down in front of her bed, gently cupping her cheek with his hand.

"Good," she sighed, and her warm breath tickled his skin. "What time is it?" she questioned, stretching up and out of Percy's grasp.

"Almost ten," the doctor informed firmly, alerting the couple to her presence in the doorway.

"Fuck!" Percy jumped up and away from Annabeth. "You shouldn't do that," he grumbled, reaching out to take Annabeth's hand which she eagerly accepted, entwining her fingers with his and relishing in the soft warmth that he emitted.

The pair watched as the doctor began checking the machines, whirring monotonously beside Annabeth. She then reached for the blonde's wrist and, encountering little resistance, peeled the tape back from her skin and carefully removed the IV from Annabeth's vein.

"What are you doing?" Percy demanded, a protective hold overcoming him as he observed the doctor disconnect his girlfriend from the hospital equipment that had been keeping her healthy.

"I thought they told you," the woman arched her brow and straightened up. Annabeth and Percy shared a confused look that informed the doctor of their oblivious states. "You're being released!" she smiled.

"Really?" Annabeth squealed, her fingers tightening around Percy's.

"Yes, really," the doctor answered sarcastically, dropping her cheerful demeanor. Annabeth practically jumped with joy as the medical professional continued to shut off the machines. The continuous humming of machines finally came to an end, and Percy let out a breath which he didn't know he'd been holding.

"So where to?" Annabeth questioned, jokingly Percy grinned, the expression crinkling his eyes.

* * *

"No, Percy!" Annabeth giggled. "Stop!"

"What did you say?" Percy feigned ignorance and pushed her wheelchair further down the hallway. "I didn't hear you." She'd been given a wheelchair as a nicety from the hospital.

"Percy!" Annabeth hissed, trying to make her voice sound serious. "There are sick people here!"

"So?" he shrugged, settling his head onto her shoulder and speeding up the ride. "We can't have any fun just because others aren't having any?"

"No-" Percy swooped forward suddenly, changing the direction they were going. She broke out into another fit of giggles, unable to contain herself. It was a wonderful sound that made Percy's soul soar. Her uncontrolled laugh rang through his ears as he internalized the sound, content with only hearing it for the rest of his life.

"What are you two doing?" a sharp voice snapped behind the pair, easily crushing the lazy mood.

"Nothing," Percy answered quickly, casually leaning back against the wheel chair, trying to project an innocent facade.

"It didn't look like nothing," the tall male doctor drawled impatiently.

"I apologize," Annabeth responded politely before Percy could find another excuse. "My boyfriend was just teasing. I'll make sure he cuts in out."

"You better," the man barked loudly. "There are sick people here."

Told you so, Annabeth mouthed to Percy who rolled his eyes. "It won't happen again," the blonde assured him. The doctor eyed the two suspiciously, lingering an extra second on Percy, and sniffed before striding off in the direction of the Operating Rooms.

"Let's go," muttered Percy, heading towards the exit, wheeling Annabeth slowly this time. She grinned at the small lilt of his lips as if he couldn't resist smiling in her presence. It was a good thing she was seated because the thought made her melt.

"Okay," she agreed softly, not bothering to fight the broad smile seemingly plastered on her face. Percy slowly rolled her forward until they were in the hallway leading to the waiting room. Piper and Jason had had to leave to fill out paperwork for Thalia's release earlier that morning, but they'd all agreed to meet in the waiting room. Percy and Annabeth were about to cross the threshold when the Piper and Jason were suddenly rushing towards them, signaling for them to turn around.

"What?" Annabeth called across the white hallway.

"Go back!" Piper hissed as she neared the couple, taking the wheel chair from Percy's hands and rapidly pushing Annabeth back into a random hospital wing. She was moving slower than Percy had earlier but there was no teasing in her demeanor.

"What's happening?" Percy asked, wildly confused as Jason took him by the shoulder and dragged him along.

Once they were in the room with the door closed, the out of breath couple began to speak and explain the new development in their situation.

" - can't go outside - " Piper wheezed.

" - there are reporters everywhere," Jason finished for her.

"What?" Annabeth frowned. Percy sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, incredibly frustrated. His girlfriend still looked confused. She wasn't used to this. He felt horrible. She had been in an accident and she couldn't get peace because of his career.

"How did they find me?" Percy groaned. It was meant more for himself, but Piper answer anyway.

"They said a nurse tipped them off." Percy thought for a moment before realizing.

"That fucking nurse." He breathed in deeply, trying to think through the chaos and to a solution.

"Let me talk to a nurse and -" Jason proposed.

"A different nurse," Piper clarified with a funny little smile, trying to stay positive in a tense moment.

"Yes, a different nurse" Jason conceded, "and ask her if there's a back exit we could use." Percy nodded, a silent thank you scribed in his eyes. The blue eyed boy whispered something to Piper and left the room.

Percy bent down onto his knees before Annabeth. He held her hands and looked her in the eyes as he told her, "I'm sorry. This is my fault."

"It's fine, Percy," Annabeth replied with a small smile, but it still looked like she was withholding something. "You had no way of knowing this would happen."

"I'm going to get us out of here," he assured her. "I'll get us back to the hotel."

"Percy," Piper interrupted with a sheepish smile. "It might be best for you to go out the front doors and answer the reporter's questions, your presence might serve as a distraction. The rest of us could sneak out through a back door and meet you back at the hotel."

Percy was silent for a second, thinking over the plan the brunette had presented. "Okay," he finally nodded and turned back to Annabeth. "Go to my hotel room." He reached into his back pocket and brought forward his wallet. "It's room 1604. I'll be there as soon as I can." The green eyed boy found his key card and handed it to her, his hopeful gaze meeting hers.

"Okay," Annabeth agreed, biting her lip. Percy leaned forward and pressed a chaste kiss to her lips, filling her with the warmth she needed to move forward with the plan.

Just as he pulled away, Jason came running back into the room. "Nurse told me there's a back exit," he informed a bit breathlessly. "There are only a few reporters there. I was thinking if we create a diversion - "

"We already figured it out, babe." Piper fought a smile as Jason's icy eyes flicked towards her, looking endearingly confused.

"I'll see you soon," Percy whispered to Annabeth with a comforting smile, which she tried to return. "Don't let anyone get to her," he instructed Piper and Jason as he stood up. Percy quickly left the room, knowing the longer he stayed inside the more reporters would pile up.

The door shut softly behind him, and Annabeth leaned her head back against the back of the wheelchair she hadn't really needed. This was exactly what she hadn't wanted. Her breathing rapidly became more erratic with Percy out of the room.

" - don't think it matters," Piper finished, and Annabeth realized she hadn't heard a single thing her friend had said to her.

"What?" Annabeth questioned faintly, her voice sounding almost hoarse.

"Are you alright?" Jason asked with a frown, advancing towards her. "Your eyes are super dilated… like scary dilated."

"I'm fine," the blonde snapped. "Can you just tell me how we're getting out of here." Jason took a step back, looking affronted.

"I think we'll wait a minute or two longer," Piper considered gently, noting her friend's elevated demeanor. "Then we'll try to back exit."

Annabeth hastily nodded and tried to calm her breathing, focusing on the unmoving, deadly white sheets on the bed.

* * *

Percy pursed his lips as he stared out into the crowd, sporadically blinded by the flashing camera lights. He heard muffled 'shh-ing' among the paparazzi, and took a deep breath as the group quieted, preparing to lie. "I'm deeply disappointed," he began, "in the public and in the tabloids. How is it that I am unable to visit a family friend after an accident, out of fear of my tragedy being plastered on every magazine cover in the nation?"

There were a few muffled complaints in the crowd before him, but his question was soon followed by a stream of intrusive inquiries by the reporters; the first one escaped, and the rest rapidly bombarded him. He was only able to catch a few questions here and there.

"Who were you visiting?"

"A family friend," Percy responded vaguely. He knew his girlfriend and her friends would need at least fifteen minutes to completely get out of the hospital and into a car. In the meantime, the only way to distract the paparazzi was to humor them. The reporters, quickly realizing he was willing to answer questions, grew silent.

Percy pointed to a brunette woman in the front and regretted it the minute the questions left her lips.

"Is the family friend Annabeth Chase?"

Percy bit the side of his cheek and tasted blood, he wasn't sure how to react. He could lie, but chances were the nurse who had tipped off the paparazzi in the first place had also leaked his girlfriend's name. "Yes," he said finally.

"What is your relationship with Ms. Chase?" someone near the back of the crowd called out. Percy quickly realized that he was playing a dangerous game. The more questions he answered the more information the tabloids had to build a story around.

"As I stated before," Percy answered, speaking excruciatingly slow and putting great pauses between his words, "she is a family friend."

"Is she your girlfriend?" the next reporter he called on asked. Percy rolled his eyes and rephrased his previous answer so it contained more words, hopefully buying Annabeth the time she needed.

* * *

Annabeth paced around Percy's hotel room. Her fingers were tangled in her hair and her gray eyes kept darting between the clock on the stove and the white door.

It was almost four in the afternoon. They'd left the hospital at well past two but still, there was no way it took him two hours to reach the hotel, especially when it had only taken her half an hour.

Annabeth let out a huff of frustration as she anxiously took a seat on the loveseat in the small living room space his suite allowed. She figured she should talk to him about how she felt, about the knot that was tied tight in her stomach at any reminder of his fame. Not wanting to get involved with the paparazzi and the tabloids was the initial reason she had pushed Percy away when she'd first met him.

Suddenly, breaking Annabeth from her mind rambling, the door swung open and Percy burst through, carrying two dozen peonies and a white box. He grinned at the sight of her, and she couldn't help but return the expression. His warm, easy demeanor made her heart melt and put her mind at peace, even if the calm was just momentary.

Percy kicked the door closed behind him and dropped the box he'd been carrying onto the floor. He advanced towards her, and Annabeth found her feet doing the same until they were chest to chest, nose to nose.

"Hey," he breathed, his words blowing across her lips. Annabeth leaned forward and grabbed onto the back of his head, pressing his lips to hers. Percy's hands immediately dropped the bouquet he'd brought her and wrapped around her body, pulling her close.

Annabeth hadn't felt his hands on her in so long. His touch sent her nerves dancing from her head to her toes. She pulled back, sliding her nose against his and gazing up at him.

"How are you?" she asked in barely more than a whisper.

Percy chuckled, completely and thoroughly, and she felt it echo through his body. "Shouldn't I be asking you that?" he countered kindly. "How are you?"

"Better now that you're here," Annabeth replied honestly, closing her eyes and letting her head fall against his chest. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," Percy rested his chin on the top of her head and tightened his arms around her. They stood like that for a while, just taking each other in. It had been so long.

"What's in the box?" Annabeth questioned softly, finally breaking the silence.

"Box?" Percy repeated back to her, his voice sounding sleepy.

"Box." Annabeth grinned and nodded in the direction of the white box he'd dropped on his way into the room.

"Oh. Something I think you'll love." Annabeth couldn't see her boyfriend's face, but she could tell he was smiling.

"So sure," she teased and untangled herself from his arms to inspect it herself. The blonde carried herself lightly as she made her way over to the box. It was looking slightly damaged sitting on the carpeted floor of the hotel room.

Annabeth picked it up and placed it on the kitchen counter. Percy followed close behind her, taking her hips in his hands and pulling them back against him. She reached for the lid, but he stopped her. "Guess what it is first," he demanded.

"I bet it's a…" she considered Percy for a moment, thinking of what he might get her. She really truly hoped it wasn't a necklace because it would mean he didn't know her very well. " - book?"

"It's not a book," Percy smiled at her suggestion, allowing her to open the box, and Annabeth's eyes widened at the sight once she did. Inside the white box was the most splendid looking cake she had ever seen in her entire life. Maybe it was the two days of hospital food, maybe the cake looked really good, but whatever the reason, her mouth had begun the water and her stomach had begun to grumble.

"Fuck," she let out a sigh at the splendor before her.

"I knew you'd like it," Percy said behind her, obviously very proud of himself. He reached around her and pressed a kiss to her temple as he took the cake from the box. "Let me cut it."

Annabeth nodded and absently licked her lips. She stood back as Percy carefully cut two enormous pieces of the chocolate cake and placed them on two small plates.

"Where shall we eat?" Percy turned towards her, plates in hand when he was finished.

"Anywhere," Annabeth shrugged, not really knowing where it was appropriate to eat in his hotel room. The dark haired boy headed towards the balcony, and laughed when his girlfriend's eyes followed the cake.

"C'mon," he instructed, "we can eat outside."

The air outside was the perfect temperature, not too hot but not too cool either. Annabeth was very happy to discover the cake she had been ogling did not disappoint, and the cake was gone within the hour (it really wasn't that big, to begin with). It was extremely easy to fall into old patterns with Percy. Earlier she had intended to talk to him about the paparazzi and what it meant for their relationship, but when she was around him she couldn't think about anything but him. It certainly didn't help that her mind slipped to very dirty thoughts as she watched her boyfriend savor every last bite of the chocolate cake.

"Still some whipped cream," Annabeth noted, picking at the remnants of the chocolate delicacy on her plate.

"Should we make good use of it?" Percy questioned, his tone was so casual Annabeth almost didn't catch the insinuation. It wasn't until she glanced up at him and saw the devilish smirk gracing his lips, and the mischievous glint in his eyes, that she understood.

"Maybe we should," Annabeth agreed. She stood up and took his plate from him. She walked back inside, deliberately swinging her hips subtly and leaving only the whipped cream on the table.

Annabeth heard Percy's deep chuckle outside and the screech of his chair as he stood up, and she broke into a run, giggling madly.

a/n: okay so it's summer and I've been busy. I flew to dc the day after school got out and I didn't bring my computer. Luckily I'm back home until mid July so the updates should be coming pretty regularly until then. I know my apology is kind of shitty, especially when you factor in how long I was gone but I promise I'll be more reliable in the future. Thanks for sticking with me.


	66. Chapter 66

a/n: endless thanks to cRawr my amazing beta.

disclaimer: no ownership.

warning: basically all lemon.

* * *

Annabeth sighed at the familiar feeling of Percy's fingers ghosting over the bare skin of her abdomen. She felt his lips leave her's to work her neck and let her head fall back, sinking into a wild mess of golden curls. She lifted her arms at her boyfriend's silent request and felt the seam of her flimsy t-shirt brush against her as it left her body.

Percy barely paused when he reached for the can of whipped cream that was next to the bed, but it was still enough time for Annabeth to tear his shirt off over his head. He leaned over her body as he slowly pressed the cool plastic nozzle of the bottle into the tan skin of her chest, just below her collarbone.

Annabeth hissed and arched her back at the sudden icy chill that swept through her body. She bit her lip and let out an inadvertent whimper as Percy's tongue connected with the cold area, tracing the line of whipped cream and licking her chest clean.

"Percy," she moaned as the warmth of his mouth left her skin, and the tingling cool feel of the whipped cream returned, lower this time, along the curve of her breasts. She tilted her head back and allowed her eyes to flutter shut, welcoming the heated trail that flowed from Percy's touch, as the burn of her desire invaded her entire being.

Annabeth felt Percy's fingers fumbling with the buckles of her jean shorts, she and hid a giggle behind a loose-lipped smile. She nudged his hand away and did the job for him, easily slipping the button through the small slit and unzipping the garment. She desperately kicked off her shorts and wrapped her legs around her boyfriend.

Percy, much her surprise, shifted her legs off his hips, albeit gently. His lips continued their journey down the flat of her stomach, carefully avoiding her belly button and sending marvelous tingles through her veins. His touch set her ablaze with need. Annabeth resisted the urge to scream at him to get a move on, as he drew back the waistline of her panties and swiped his tongue along the warm skin where the seam had previously been. She gasped and reached down, knotting her fingers in his dark hair as he slipped the soft fabric of her underwear slowly down her legs.

As Annabeth lifted her hips off the bed to help her boyfriend rid her completely of her clothing, she was struck with a sudden realization, a memory of sorts. She was momentarily taken back to her relationship with Luke, to the late nights they used to spend together, "watching movies", they used to call it.

Granted, Luke had been a tad bit inattentive to her needs, but he had never been overly selfish. He offered to go down on her a few times during their relationship, even did it once or twice, but Annabeth had found she was unable to really enjoy it. It had been the same with sex. She had fallen for Luke but wasn't assured he'd fallen for her. As a result, she had been overly anxious and utterly conscious of her body, about the noises she made and the way she felt. She kept it all in, not speaking a word out of fear of scaring him off or being perceived as odd.

It was different with Percy, it was easy, she never doubted the level of his affection. She knew he loved her, and she felt completely comfortable around him. She knew she could be as weird as she wanted, and he would still stand by her, she could openly speak her mind without fear of him leaving. The thought brought a small smile to her lips which quickly morphed into a cheek-splitting grin.

Annabeth was wrenched from her musings as Percy pulled her panties down her legs and slipped them over her ankles. He returned his focus to her body, which was aching for his touch, lowering himself so his head was level with her hips. He suppressed a groan at the sight of her glistening slit before him and averted his eyes, worried it might be too much of a temptation. He wanted to make her want this, to beg for it, for _him_.

Percy slid his hands up the inside of her thighs, focusing on the rich skin there instead. He leaned forward, dragged his teeth across her soft skin, and felt her shudder beneath him. He smirked against her, and pressed his lips to her muscular leg once more, this time nipping at the skin and sucking until it left a mark. He then pulled back to admire the lovebite on her inner leg with a possessive zeal.

Above him, Annabeth let out something between a groan of frustration and a desperate whimper for more. Percy brushed his thumb against the reddened area before continuing, his lips slowly traveling closer to the apex of her warmth. She wriggled on the mattress under him, shifting anxiously, attempting to push her hips into him, trying to bring his lips closer to the place where she desperately needed him. The dark haired boy chuckled, his heated breath deliciously stimulating her sensitive nerves, and pressed a flat palm to her stomach and gently eased her body back down to the bed.

Annabeth had her eyes squeezed shut and her jaw clenched so tightly it almost hurt. She was perfectly still, giving Percy complete control over her for the moment. She felt his tongue delicately trace around her most sensitive area before shyly lapping at her bundle of nerves.

"Oh." Annabeth bit her lip as her back arched off the bed and her hips inadvertently jerked forward. Percy placed his hands underneath her and tugged her forward until so she was partially off the bed, her legs easily settling on his shoulders. A strangled moan escaped her clenched lips as Percy pulled back, sucking her clit as he did.

Annabeth was moments from tilting her head to look down at him when his fingers entered her, two digits, slowing pumping in and out. Her head instantly fell back against the pillow and a loud feminine gasp escaped her, making Percy's length twitch eagerly.

Her boyfriend continued his ministrations as she writhed in pleasure on the bed, applying his tongue simultaneously this time. He slowly sped up his movements and Annabeth gradually grew more and more bothered. Noting she was nearing her climax, Percy began to furiously finger her. He nipped lightly at her clit then shifted down, nudging it with his nose as he dipped his tongue into her warmth.

Annabeth let out a series of moan between her uneven pants and gasps. Her hands clutched tightly at the white sheets tangled around her hips. Her knuckles turned white as she the ballooning tension inside her split and sent her body spasming.

Percy felt her clamp around his fingers and removed his tongue, leaning back to enjoy the look of pure bliss on his girlfriend's face as she twitched and convulsed for him. Once she'd completely rode out her orgasm, he removed his soaking digits, a smug grin plastered on his face.

As Annabeth calmed her breathing, Percy climbed back onto the bed and laid next to her. He took advantage of her lack of attention and reached for the long forgotten whipped cream next to him. He tilted his head back and sprayed a dollop of cool whipped cream onto his tongue. The foamy sweet was just sliding down his throat when he felt a soft hand on his upper leg, causing him to choke embarrassingly loudly.

"Are you okay?" Annabeth frowned, leaning over him.

"Mhm," he assured her while fighting the intense itch in his throat urging him to cough. "I'm fine," he wheezed, finally having cleared his windpipe.

"Good," Annabeth replied with a kind yet mischievous smile. She lowered her lips over his and enveloped him in her delightful smell. He reached an arm around her, pulling her close, and used his other arm to tangle his fingers in her curls so that their mouths aligned perfectly.

Annabeth slid her tongue along the line of Percy's lips and they instantly parted for her, a low growl developing deep in his throat. He pulled her naked body over his and quickly kicked off his trousers without pausing to glance down. He trailed his lips down her neck, enjoying the soft dulcet sounds that escaped her at the action.

"You taste so good," Annabeth breathed, searching blindly for his boxers. It was quite difficult with such distracting sucking and gorging at her pulse point. She bit her lip and powered through the feeling, and was rewarded. Annabeth, having found the fabric seam, shoved them down as far as she could. She finished the job with her feet, pushing the underwear down to Percy's ankles where he was able to kick them off.

"It's whipped cream," Percy whispered into the crook of her neck. She swallowed with some difficulty as his lips moved along her collarbone. She felt his stiff appendage brush her wrist and took it in her hand, squeezing gently. Percy was forced to pause his assault at the motion, groaning into her skin.

Annabeth lightly stroked his length. He was soft but hard, like satin over steel. Using the pad of her thumb, she spread the pearl of his arousal that was perched at the tip. She tentatively wrapped her hand around him and pumped up and down. He let loose another inadvertent groan and she saw his eyes flutter shut. Annabeth smile and repeated the movement, her fingers moving more confidently this time.

Percy had, for the most part, abandoned her neck. While his lips still occasionally brushed the delicate skin of her shoulder, he was mostly preoccupied with her hands and their favors. His heated pants escaped him and ghosted across her, delighting her in the most primal ways.

"Stop," Percy groaned, tilting his head down to meet her eyes. "I won't last if you continue." Annabeth nodded, placing butterfly kisses along the sharp line of his jaw. She removed her hand from him and carefully aligned their bodies. She met Percy's lips for a final kiss before she sank down onto him and was overcome by searing heat created by their now joined bodies.

Percy's lips hovered just below Annabeth's, catching mouthfuls of her when she moaned. It slid over his tongue and down his throat as he swallowed and basked in her complete and utter glory. He kept one hand on her hip, assisting her movements as she slid up and down his length, as the other began skimming the wondrous curves of her body until it reached her neck.

Percy threaded his fingers through her curls and pushed aside the strands that had been obscuring his vision of her eyes. He met the gray, normally so bright and inquisitive, and let out a predatory growl at the dark and dangerous ring of her iris. He sped up the sharp jabs of his hips and found himself completely captivated by the way Annabeth's face contorted with pleasure.

"Gods damn it," Percy groaned at the sight. "You're so fucking beautiful." Annabeth felt her heart melt and her insides turn to mush. He pushed his head forward and brushed her nose with his, making his intentions clear. She complied, joining their lips for a kiss that was anything but chaste. His tongue danced with her own in an erotic dance. Percy latched onto her bottom lip, nipping lightly then suckling the affected area.

"Percy," Annabeth whimpered when he dropped his lips to her ear, tracing the shell of her ear with his marvelously talented tongue. The tension inside her was coiling high once again and she could feel her boyfriend's pants and groans becoming more frequent.

"Are you close?" Percy questioned breathlessly in a low voice, positioned perfectly so his words would reach only her ears but still send shivers down her spine. Annabeth nodded, unsure whether or not her voice might betray her. She sighed when Percy bit down gently on the column of her neck and hissed in the best way possible when his roaming hand joined the other at her hip and gripped tightly, almost painfully.

Percy nails dug into her skin as he neared his end. He could feel her going as well and began to furiously piston into her, savoring each and every dulcet gasp that escaped her. The sound of skin against skin, only slicked by their combined arousals, echoed loudly across the dark room.

Annabeth let out one final, long moan as she finally reached her peak. She dropped her head, resting her it against Percy's as her entire body when slack and convulsed uncontrollably around him. Percy relished in her heat and followed soon after, finding his own release in the aftermath of her climax. His hips pumped erratically into her in random and passion struck pulses.

When it was finished, they both lay there, together, entwined in the most intimate way possible, until they had come back down from their joint orgasms. The two of them were still recovering when Percy, in a deeply satisfied, warm tone sighed, "Fuck, I love you."

Annabeth chuckled, a soft smile gracing her lips. She burrowed happily into Percy's chest, allowing her curls to form a golden halo around her. Annabeth began to trace meaningless circles onto his skin with a delicate finger. "I missed you," she revealed. It wasn't the first time she'd said it, but the different setting made the statement much more intimate.

"I missed you too," Percy returned, tugging the sheet over the two of them. His breathing easily slowed as he relaxed, perfectly content to simply _exist_ in her presence. He bent down and pressed a soft kiss to her temple. "I missed you so fucking much," he breathed the words into her skin. "I had no idea it would be so hard."

Annabeth nodded, shutting her eyes tightly and trying not to internalize his words, worrying they might bring back resentful sentiments. "Do you want to shower?" she asked, wanting, _needing_ , to change the subject.

"Okay," Percy agreed and took a deep breath before sitting up. Annabeth hastily cleared her expression of any trouble, and mirror his movements. He stretched himself out, and slipped off of the bed, barely moving her. Annabeth's wasn't sure why he'd acted so strategically, but she didn't have to wonder long for her question was quickly answered.

Percy reached down to her and captured her lips. He expertly slipped his velvet tongue into her mouth and used the distraction to picked her up, hoisting her into his arms bridal style.

"Mhh mhh!" Annabeth exclaimed but his name was muffled by the kiss. She hit his chest with her ball fists until he drew his lips away, careful not to drop her in the process. "What are you doing?" she demanded, fighting an urge to giggle.

"Bathtime," Percy answered simply with a grin that was positively rogues.

* * *

a/n: it's a little short but there's more to come. unfortunately, however, all hell is about to break loose.

p.s. to everyone waiting on Funny Business. I'm trying to focus on writing several chapters of Hotel Escape so I can get ahead of myself before I go on vacation again. After I finish a decent amount of Hotel Escape, I'll finish Funny Business. It probably won't be long though, so don't worry. It's all coming in good time.


	67. Chapter 67

a/n: Same apology as funny business. I always say I'm back and I never am. I actually am this time though. I only have the SAT to study for so I really really am. You'll see.

thank you forever to cRawr, my beta, for always getting back to me so quickly.

disclaimer: I don't own pjo.

* * *

"So everything turned out alright then?" Annabeth inquired, turning over her shoulder to meet Percy's blue-green eyes. She was seated between his legs as they floated in the enormous sparkling tub filled with hot water. "Your mom was okay in the end?"

"I like to think so," Percy nodded, but the movement was so small it was barely noticeable. "She's living in a small apartment overlooking a small park. She's near all of her favorite restaurants, and there's a grocery store just a few blocks away."

"Sounds like you worked it out," Annabeth replied softly. She bit her lip, not revealing the level to which her insides melted at the kind and caring preparations he'd organized for his mother. She wondered what it would be like to be loved like that, completely and utterly.

 _Percy does_ , she reminded herself in a biting tone. She sighed and allowed her head to rest back against Percy's chest. He did love her holistically, but there was a stark difference between his relationship with his mother and his relationship with her. Despite the obvious disparity between romantic and familial love, Percy was able to openly be seen with his mother. He was able to travel to New York and spend the day with her without receiving hundreds of questions and being trailed by dozens of tabloid reporters. Annabeth couldn't help but long for that freedom.

"She's close to NYU," he stated all of a sudden, breaking Annabeth's train of thought. "If I get in," he continued, his voice hesitant as if he were confessing his deepest dreams. "I could visit her."

Annabeth nodded into him, she felt her breathing becoming uneven at the direction their conversation was heading in. She lowered a hand into the water and created designs in the bubbles, trying to ease her anxiety.

"If you get in," Annabeth felt Percy swallow behind her and shut her eyes tightly, waiting for the impending question to strike. "We could visit her together." There was a brief period of silence in the tub before the dreaded topic ghosted across his lips. "What are we going to do?" Annabeth didn't say a word, she couldn't, out of fear her own voice might betray her. "You'll be in California. I'll be in New York."

"I know." Annabeth breathed in deeply, savoring one last second of peace before the storm started. "I don't know what we'll do."

"I love you."

"I love you too," Annabeth assured him. She stared forward, at their feet intertwined at the end of the tub, distorted by the water. She couldn't bear to meet his eyes. "But - " she stumbled on the words and briefly worried whether her lips simply didn't want them to escape. " - What if love isn't enough?"

"What do you mean?" Percy asked, his voice suddenly tense and hard. There was a growing tension in his body as he held her.

"You know what I mean," Annabeth whispered, fighting tears that were burning her eyes, angrily attempting to set free her emotions. "What if love isn't strong enough to keep us together? It'll be like this week all over again; a few texts here and there can't completely replace human contact."

"Annabeth!" Percy hissed alarmed. He snatched her chin in his forefingers and tilted her head up to meet his eyes. They held no anger, only hurt. "What are you talking about? This isn't just _love_ , it's _our_ love."

Annabeth parted her lips slowly to speak, but thought better of it and closed them again, curling them into a sad smile. "You're right, Percy," she agreed, leaning forward to catch his lips. "I'm being foolish. I love you, that's all that matters."

"Are you sure?" Percy asked. His brows furrowed in concern, but he eagerly met her lips regardless. "We can talk. I don't mind."

"It's fine," Annabeth assured him, trying to ignore the dread boiling deep in her gut, so deep she almost convinced herself she could smother it completely. "I'm over thinking it, that's all." She pulled away and put on the most convincing expression of reassurance. "Now kiss me and make me feel better."

"Gladly," Percy grinned, the dent between his brows lessening but not completely disappearing as he leaned forward and captured her lips in a tender and loving kiss. She almost cried at the feelings of warmth that filled her body, eternally grateful for her boyfriend's ability to make her forget.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-00-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-00-0-0-0-0-

"'Jackson's natural musk, some have speculated, is truly a highly expert creation,'" Annabeth read, trying not to laugh, a grin plastered across her face, all her troubles completely forgotten.

"It's stupidly misleading really." Percy rolled his eyes, hiding a smile. "That woman and I have never even formally met."

"According to her," Annabeth averted her eyes from the incredibly exaggerated tabloid article about Percy, "your _natural musk_ is so exquisite and strong she could feel it effects from several feet away."

"Ugh," Percy groaned and continued drawing tiny meaningless doodles on the hotel notepad. He was seriously regretting allowing his girlfriend, who was already prone to teasing him, to read the article his agent had given him as a joke.

Annabeth resumed her silent reading, unable to wipe a knowing smirk off her face as the reporter remarked on Percy's blue-green eyes, describing them as 'dreamy and enchanting yet immensely alluring. "Listen to this," Annabeth instructed as she ran across a severely misinformed claim. "Sources have informed us, however, that Percy is not the playboy the often incorrect tabloids -"

"That's rich," Percy snorted, flipping the page in the small notepad and starting on a new drawing.

" - report," Annabeth continued, smiling at his comment but otherwise not to acknowledging it. "This claim was substantiated by one of his close friends who chose to remain anonymous. He informed this fine institution that Percy is pure as a pearl, and is hurt by his constant depiction in the media."

"Wow," Percy deadpanned. "Really marvelous writing, top notch reporting."

"Are you pure as a pearl, Percy?" Annabeth teased, abandoning the magazine to kiss her boyfriend.

"So pure," Percy replied, matching her tone. He leaned forward and pressed his lips to her's, dipping his tongue into her mouth for a just a moment, to show her just how _pure_ he was. Annabeth was breathless when he pulled away.

"Did you just draw that?" Annabeth inquired, pointing to the small ocean scene drawn on a loose piece of paper that he had discarded.

"Mhm," Percy nodded. Annabeth picked up the paper and examined the drawing. It was surprisingly intricate. She tilted her head thoughtfully, all her hair falling to one side. Percy caught Annabeth off guard when he asked, "can I give you a tattoo?"

Annabeth cast her gaze towards his hopeful one and considered him. "Since when are you a studied tattoo artist?" she asked playfully.

"Not a real tattoo," Percy amended. "Just pen."  
"Okay," Annabeth agreed after a moment of thought. She laid back as Percy slid his fingers over the smooth expanse of skin just above her pelvis. "What are you going to draw?" the blonde asked, her voice softer than she had anticipated.

"Surprise," Percy whispered and kissed her skin once before using the ballpoint pen to trace the basic sketch. Annabeth took a deep breath and allowed her eyes to flutter shut, feeling the cheap ballpoint pen lightly indent her skin as it etched his design in her skin. Despite her endless musing, she was unable to identify what he was drawing solely from the feeling. She knew it held numerous sweeping curves and only a few edges.

The room was silent except for Percy's soft humming as he drew. The plush bedding beneath her was contoured around her curves, easing her into a relaxed state. Percy's warmth left her heart elated and her body perfectly sated. His touch skimmed her skin, sending pleasant tingles throughout her body. The scene was so serene Annabeth almost fell asleep.

"I'm done," Percy announced finally. The blonde jumped a bit, jolting forward as she'd been on the brink of sleep.

"Let me see," Annabeth requested, half sitting up, precisely enough so that she could see her hip. On the skin just above the bone lay the figure of a small aquatic figure. "Why a mermaid?" she asked curiously, her fingers ghosting over his work.

"How do you know it's not a siren?" Percy countered, a playful lilt to his query.

"Forgive me," Annabeth teased, glancing up at him. "I was under the impression sirens were evil, luring unsuspecting sailors in with their melodic voices."

"Mhm," Percy confirmed. His girlfriend directed a pointed look his way. "Fine. I'm kidding. You're right. It is a mermaid."

"Good," Annabeth said with a small smile, returning her eyes to the small drawing on her skin. She lightly brushed a finger over the illustration, admiring the precise lines.

"Besides," Percy continued, "you could never be a siren."

"Why not?" Annabeth asked, not all that disappointed.

"Have you ever heard yourself sing?" Percy joked. Annabeth head snapped up to glare at him. "What?" he feigned innocence. The blonde pressed her hand to his chest and shoved him away, perhaps a bit too roughly because he fell off the bed.

"Are you okay?" Annabeth demanded, her eyes wide with concern. She leaped towards the side of the mattress, all drawings having left her mind.

"I'm fine," Percy assured her, standing up and joining her once again on the bed. He laid back on the pillow and pulled Annabeth to his side. She snuggled into him, enjoying his natural scent mixed with the lemon scented shampoo provided by the hotel.

"Can I give you one?" Annabeth questioned after a pause, her eyes raking Percy's exposed chest. They hadn't troubled themselves in redressing more than what they felt was essential: boxers for Percy and a t-shirt and underwear for Annabeth. "A tattoo?" she clarified when her question was met with silence.

"Of course," Percy chuckled, his chest rumbled slightly at the expression. "Where?"

"Right… here," Annabeth said finally, thoughtfully pointing to the pectoral muscle that sat above his heart. Percy nodded and reached over her to hand her the pen which she gladly received.

Annabeth pressed the pen to his tan skin but stopped abruptly to deliver instructions. "I won't look," he told her, a knowing smile settling onto his face as he closed his eyes.

Annabeth turned back to his chest, where her drawing was meant to go but was struck was a glaring statement. She had no idea what she was going to draw. Percy's drawing had made sense. He loved to swim, they'd met by the ocean, hell, even their first official date had been to an aquarium. The ocean seemed to act as almost an all knowing force in their lives, drawing them together. Annabeth through back to their first date and the time they'd spent at the aquarium, looking for a figure to signify something of their time together.

Suddenly, she remembered what they'd been looking at in the aquarium, and the comment that Percy had made in regards to the aquatic animal. After thinking for a moment, Annabeth once again touched the pen to her boyfriend's skin and began to trace the image in her mind.

"What do you think?" Annabeth finally announced when she was done.

"It's a seahorse," Percy observed. She was seconds from explaining the meaning behind the tattoo, but he halted her. "Let me figure it out myself."

Annabeth bit her lips, gazing up at him as his brow furrowed adorably.

"Our first date," he concluded finally, his blue green eyes flicking up to meet hers. "We saw a pair of seahorses dancing. I told you they were mating, doing the boogie."

"Correct," Annabeth leaned forward, over his body, and planted a kiss on his full lips. "You're my seahorse," she whispered, sweeping her lips across his stubbled chin and to the shell of his ear.

"Really," Percy chuckled huskily, his heart beat rapidly increasing as her hands trailed down his body. He tilted his head to meet her lips and suppressed a groan when her tongue effortlessly slipped into his mouth, sensually massaging his own.

Annabeth dragged her fingers down Percy's chest and felt him quickly hardening beneath her. Percy tugged on her bottom lip, letting out a deep growl as she cupped him gently. He reached his arms around her back and made quick work of her bra, quickly discarding it.

Percy brought his hand around to her chest and began kneading her breasts. The green eyed boy kept his eyes on his girlfriend as he pinched her taut nipple. She gasped, interrupting their kiss, but Percy could care less as he watched Annabeth eyes roll back in a fleeting moment of ecstasy.

Percy, unable to contain himself, leaned down and connected his lips to her neck, earnestly sucking at her perfect golden skin, an attempt to worship the unraveling he was witnessing. He slid his fingers along the seam of her panties just as Annabeth's hand dipped into his boxers and her fingers wrapped around his length.

Percy let out a low groan at the feeling of her soft hand slowly spreading the pearl of precum that had formed at his tip. His own hand, in turn, delved deeper, past the soft cotton fabric of her undergarments. Annabeth suddenly stopped him, however, and removed his hand from her warmth.

"Let me," she whispered, not an edge of anxiety in her voice. Percy was momentarily confused by her words but all confusion was quickly cleared when she dropped to her knees at the edge of the bed. "Are you coming?" she asked softly, waiting for him to sit in front of her.

"Oh," Percy sat up and made his way over to her, a wrinkle forming between his brows. "You don't have to do that." He slipped off the mattress and stood between her and the bed, attempting to pull her to her feet.

"I want to," Annabeth assured him, once again gripping him with her maddingly gentle hands.

"I really wasn't expecting - oh," Percy began but was cut short when Annabeth languidly ran her tongue along the underside of his cock, putting an end to all his objections. He swallowed thickly and laced his fingers in her hair, completely under the spell of her innocent looking eyes and her devious touch.

Annabeth allowed her tongue to linger at his tip, softly stroking the rest of him with her hand. Percy let out a heavy sigh just before she fully engulfed him in the heavenly warmth of her mouth. He fell back onto the bed but propped himself up on his elbows enough that he could see the sinful way her swollen pink lips wrapped around his cock.

Annabeth swirled her tongue around his tip, almost playfully. Percy, leaning on the support of only of one elbow, used his other hand to reach down and grip her hair. The curly tresses tickled his fingers as he formed a fist, holding the golden curls in a possessive hold. His fingers soon grew tired, however, and he relaxed them slightly, allowing her to explore him with her mouth.

Using the hand that was previously stationed at the base of his member, Annabeth used her fingers to delicately cup his balls. Percy let out another involuntary groan as she cradled them, at the same time tightening her mouth around him.

Percy could feel himself building up to a point of no return. His hips twitched as Annabeth took him deeper, her lips sliding all the way to the base of his cock. He let out a stream of obscenities at the sight, his brain seemingly broken. The green eyed boy's breathing increased and without thinking he reached his hands down and pushed her mouth all the way onto him, utterly and completely lost in the sensation of her wet and willing mouth.

Percy came seconds later, spilling himself into the back of her moaned at the feeling and the vibration heightened the experience to no end. Annabeth smiled, her lips still wrapped around him, and welcomed the warm liquid.

"Fuck," he breathed. "Annabeth." His hands remained on the back of her head, but he did allow her the opportunity to raise her head and swallow down his cum as he watched with lustful half lidded eyes. She continued to lick him, more tenderly now, until the sensitive muscle was spent.

Percy sighed as reality seem to resume around him and Annabeth pull away, leaning her head on his thigh as her hands still cupped his balls and stroked his half flaccid member.

"It was good?" Annabeth asked, though the smirk on her face told him she already knew the answer. "I assume." Percy merely nodded, still unable to wrap his brain around forming words, much less completing a coherent sentence. Her grin widened and she climbed back onto the bed as her boyfriend recovered. "Do you want to watch a something?"

Percy swallowed thickly but still couldn't find his words. He simply nodded again and followed her to the head of the bed where he took a comfortable seat next to her and tucked her body into his. "What time is it?" he questioned once he was finally able to voice a thought.

"Um…" Annabeth broke out of his embrace and reached for her phone. "Shit," she said softly as she looked down at the time. "It's almost four."

"In the morning?" Percy clarified, his brows raising in disbelief. It felt like it had been one or two hours, nowhere near eight. Annabeth shoots him a playful pitying look.

"I have to work tomorrow," she told him, running her hand along his jawline.

"We should probably get to bed then," Percy instructed before taking the remote from her and turning off the tv and the lights. He got back into bed and rejoined Annabeth under the covers. She was still naked except for her panties. He resisted the urge to trace the seam of them with his fingertip and instead wrapped both his arms around her, pulling her close to his body. He noted for the umpteenth time how perfectly her back fit into his chest before relaxing his muscles.

"Percy," Annabeth interrupted the comfortable silence as a thought struck her. "Why aren't you working? Did your movie get canceled?"

"No," Percy whispered, his words muffled by her hair. "Just postponed. They can't film the movie without the _star_ ," he informed her haughtily.

"Ass," she muttered with a smile before he pulled her closer to him and they both fell asleep.

* * *

a/n: dedicated to the last two guest reviewers. One who left a very thoughtful review which was much appreciated and the other who left me inspired with the phrase "I even got on my hands and knees like you should make Annabeth do next chapter"

See ya in like fourish days!


	68. Chapter 68

a/n: yeah, I know

thanks to cRawr for being the best beta imaginable.

disclaimer: don't own pjo

* * *

"Really, Percy," Annabeth giggled, trying to pull herself out of his strong arms.

"No," her boyfriend protested, only half joking. His grip around her tightened.

"I need to get to work," Annabeth insisted. "My supervisor will rat to the hotel manager if I'm late."

"I know," Percy sighed and let her go. "Come over afterward?"

"I have to stop by my room first." She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his in a chaste kiss. "I can't spend _all_ my time with you."

"Why not?" Percy questioned, chasing her lips for one last kiss.

"Percy!" Annabeth squealed as he accomplished his goal. "I'm gonna be _really_ late now!"

"Worth it," Percy said with a smirk before pushing her towards the door. "Be careful on your way out," he advised, peeking out into the hall and looking both ways before allowing her to exit.

"I will." The blonde rolled her eyes at her boyfriend and, after adjusting her grip on her bag, took to the hallway. She felt a soft pat on her bottom as she stepped into the corridor, and when she turned she saw Percy grinning wide.

Annabeth bit her lip to stop herself from matching his expression before turning back to the hallway and sneaking through it, careful not to catch the attention of any other guests.

* * *

"You're late!" Annabeth's supervisor snapped the second she stepped through the threshold of the Emporium, where she'd been assigned to work after her accident. The staff had switched out her lifeguard duties for shop girl duties, worrying over another injury. Annabeth would have mentioned that her accident wasn't related to Hotel Escape in any way, but she wasn't really in the mood to see her ex-boyfriend.

"I know," the blonde acknowledged, offering an apologetic nod.

"I'll let it pass this time because you were injured," her supervisor told her. "But don't let it happen again."

"I won't," Annabeth assured the uptight woman.

"Today you'll be working as a shopgirl," her supervisor explained as she led her into the shop. "Here's your name tag." She handed her the cheap tag before sending her on her way. While Annabeth was glad to be out of the hospital, it only took ten minutes of interaction with stuck up customers, for her to remember why exactly she had found this job so exhausting.

"I'm confused," a woman explained to Annabeth. "Why does that matter?"

"Well," Annabeth explained in the least patronizing tone she could manage. "UV rays are bad for your skin and excessive exposure can cause skin cancer."

"Oh…" the woman still looked confused, but she no longer questioned Annabeth's recommendation in tanning oil. "Thanks, I guess."

"Happy to help," Annabeth smiled politely and walked away. Just as she approached the next customer, she was plowed into by an excited looking Piper.

"Did you spend the whole night with him?!" the brunette asked excitedly, her eyes lighting up at the prospect.

"Good morning, Piper," Annabeth greeted with a swift roll of her eyes. "How's your day been?"

"Pshh," Piper brushed the question off. "It's barely nine. It hasn't been nearly a day yet." Annabeth shrugged, trying to squirm her way out of Piper's surprisingly strong grip. "Answer the question!"

"Fine," Annabeth sighed. "Yes, I did. Why do you ask?"

"He loves you!" Piper announced as if it were some grand revelation.

"I know," Annabeth chuckled. "He informed me of that fact as well."

"Yes," Piper nudged her friend, joy bubbling up inside her. "But he really _really_ loves you." Annabeth took a deep breath and decided to humor her friend.

"What makes you say that?"

"I saw it!" Piper exclaimed. "I saw it in his eyes! When you were hurt, he was _devastated_!"

"I wish you wouldn't sound so excited at the thought of my boyfriend's ruination," Annabeth told her friend, making no effort to hide the smile pulling at the corner of her lips. "We can't talk about this right now."

"Why not?" Piper hissed, frowning. Annabeth inconspicuously pointed to her supervisor who was scanning the area for her employee. "Oh."

"Yeah, 'oh'. Why don't we get lunch?" Annabeth suggested. "I can answer your questions then."

"Okay," Piper agreed. "But you'll answer _all_ my questions?"  
"I'll answer _most_ of your questions," Annabeth laughed then shooed Piper away when she saw her supervisor stalking the close racks, looking for her.

"I'll see you then!" Piper whispered, her excitement clear in her voice. Annabeth smiled and nodded before greeting a customer and asking if he needed any help. The young man declined her assistance but handed Annabeth a white iPhone.

"I found this on the floor," he informed her. "I think someone dropped it."

"Thank you," Annabeth smiled before looking down at the phone realizing with a start that it was hers. After scanning her surrounding area for her supervisor, Annabeth opened the phone and noticed she had several texts from Percy.

She grinned and read the messages. They were silly, nothing of importance, just random thoughts about pancakes, blue food and a single text telling her he missed her already.

Annabeth's bottom slipped between her teeth as she tried to hide the blush that colored her face. It really didn't matter what he'd said, the mere fact that he had texted her instead of going back to bed when he didn't have to be at work for another two hours, was enough to send butterflies rushing into her stomach.

Annabeth typed out a quick response to her boyfriend before pocketing the phone once again. She took a deep breath and proceeded to walk towards the front of the shop to greet more customers. Suddenly, her job didn't seem so bad anymore.

00-0-0-0-0-0-00-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Annabeth's day seemed to pass by in a blur of sweet messages from Percy, and occasional innuendos from Piper. Lunch came and went. Piper's questions were unsurprisingly thorough. It seemed she wanted to know every single possible detail of Annabeth and Percy's relationship.

Annabeth simply laughed off the more intrusive questions, while answering the others. Piper was, of course, pleased to know her friend was also in love. Piper noted how much happier she looked with Percy. Her skin seemed to glow, and Annabeth had this kind of fun loving aura around her now.

It wasn't until they reached the subject of the future, of after summer, that Annabeth began to clam up.

"We haven't discussed it," the blonde told Piper, leaving little room for questions.

"Why not?" Piper ignored her friend's tone and pushed regardless. "It's sort of essential."

"I know," Annabeth dipped her head down and took a large bite of the burger she was working on finishing. "We just haven't gotten to it."

"Well, why not?" Piper pressed.

"Because!" Annabeth snapped sharply, the harshness of her voice surprising the brunette. "I - " Annabeth sighed at the expression on her friend's face. "It's my fault really. I'm worried that - that we won't last."

"What?" Piper clarified, her brows scrunching together. "Why not? You two obviously love each other."

"But what if love isn't enough," Annabeth questioned. Piper laughed and the blonde glared in response. "Could you please take this seriously?"

"Sorry," Piper shook her head apologetically. "But the statement, 'is love enough?' was too funny not to comment."

"Right," Annabeth pressed her lips together in a grimace. "I forgot who I was talking to, the biggest romantic I've ever met."

"That's hardly fair!" Piper protested though she knew on some level the depiction was true.

"Piper," Annabeth reasoned. "If I was unhappy a week without Percy to a point where I considered taking a break, what makes you think we would ever last a year apart?"

"Because _love_!" Piper exclaimed loudly, raising the eyebrows of other customers around the pair.

"Piper!" Annabeth hissed, a pointed stare telling her to quiet herself. "I loved him then, I love him now. It didn't do much for me then, only hurt me more."

"But - " Piper tried to object.

"No!" Annabeth snapped, swallowing thickly as she held back tears. "This is why we don't talk about it! We'll make a mutual decision when the time comes."

"But - " Piper continued to attempt to cut in.

"Piper, please," Annabeth pleaded. "Let us handle it when the time comes."

"Fine," Piper agreed begrudgingly, crossing her arms across her chest. "How's your burger?"

"It's good," Annabeth bobbed her head at Piper's measly attempt to change the subject.

Lunch wasn't much fun after that.

* * *

It was almost eleven o'clock by the time Annabeth made it back to Percy's room. She was pleasantly surprised to find him waiting for her. She had stopped at her room to pick up some stuff before she came over, and had run into Piper who was still miffed from their lunchtime conversation.

"How was your day?" Annabeth asked, a smile lighting up her face as he sauntered forward to help her with her bag.

"Good," Percy kissed her chastely on the mouth. "Better now." The blonde grinned and, with his assistance, set her stuff down in the kitchen. He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close to his body as he led them forward.

"What are you up to?" Annabeth questioned as they both entered the bedroom portion of Percy's hotel room.

"Nothing," Percy shrugged. "I just got off the phone with my mom." Annabeth's brows lifted in question at his words. "She's doing really well," her boyfriend assured her, seeing her expression.

"I'm glad," Annabeth smiled, leaning forward to kiss his very tempting lips again. "I have to shower," she whispered against hm. "I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all," Percy grinned, his lips curving delightfully against Annabeth's. "In fact, I just might join you."

"Hmm," Annabeth pretending to think about it. She opened her eyes to find Percy staring at her. She peered into his green blue eyes and felt her insides melt, and she was suddenly lost in the ocean behind them. It was like the first time they'd met all over again. It was something about his eyes that had struck her, that and his attitude. They'd drawn her in until she was utterly lost.

"You know you're really quite pretty when you're completely captivated by me," Percy smirked. Annabeth scoffed but couldn't wipe a smile off her face.

"I'm gonna shower," she informed slowly. "You can join me but only if you…" she licked her lips, the sight momentarily distracting Percy just as she had hoped it would, "can catch me!" Annabeth finished and took off running, pushing Percy back in the process.

The dark haired boy laughed loudly in disbelief, and then took a deep breath before chasing after her. He caught up to her just before she shut the bathroom door. Annabeth giggled madly as he grasped her by the waist and pulled her back into his chest.

"Caught you," Percy declared boastfully into her ear, sending an unexpected shudder rippling through her body. Annabeth turned around and put her hands on his chest.

"Better claim your prize then," she recommended. Her boyfriend's eyes widened almost comically and his smug grin quickly morphed into an expression of awe as Annabeth removed her shirt and dropped to her knees before him.

"Gods, I love you." Percy groaned.

* * *

"Thanks," the green eyed boy said to the pizza delivery man with a good natured smile. "You can keep the change."

"Thank you, sir," the teenager, about his age, replied with a polite nod and turned to go, ignoring the way his eyes had forcefully avoided his naked torso. Percy chuckled at the formality with which the boy had addressed him and closed the door with the hand not holding the box of pizza.

"Did you already pay?" Annabeth questioned, rushing out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her abdomen. Percy nodded and ignored the pointed glare from his girlfriend. "You promised you would let me pay."

"Another time," Percy dismissed lightly with a wave of his hand. He left the pizza box on the small coffee table they'd agreed would serve as their dinner table tonight and sauntered back into the bedroom.

Annabeth rolled her eyes and put her wallet back in her bag. She tied her wet hair up and watched out of the corner her eyes as Percy's delectable backside came into view when he dropped his towel. She hid her minute smile and turned her attention back to their dinner when he slipped on his boxers.

"I meant to ask earlier," her boyfriend called from across the room, the end of his sentence becoming slightly muffled as he threw on a t-shirt. "What are your plans tomorrow?"

"What do you mean?" Annabeth responded absently, carefully pulling the first slice out of the pie.

"I mean," Percy clarified, wandering over to her. "What are you doing tomorrow?" He too picked up a piece of the pepperoni pizza, hissing as it was hot. Annabeth, observing his distress, silently slid a plate over to him.

"I'm at the Emporium in the morning, then at the towel shack after lunch," she told him and took a large bite of her pizza, almost moaning as it touched her tongue.

"Oh," Percy glanced up from his pizza, looking confused. "I thought you had Thursdays off."

"I did," Annabeth explained, after swallowing her enormous bite. "But then my schedule got changed so I had Mondays free, and now that it has been changed again I have Tuesday free."

"Oh," Percy said again, nodding. He bite into his pizza with a frown curling his lips downward.

"What's wrong?" the blonde inquired, setting her food down.

"It's not a big deal," Percy shrugged, following her movements.

"It obviously is," Annabeth began as she stood, but was cut off by an interjecting thought. "Do you want water?"

"Mhm," Percy chuckled lightly and couldn't resist a smile at her shifting attention span. Annabeth nodded in acknowledgment and reached into the small cupboard. She took out two cups, closed the white cabinet door, and filled the two containers before returning to the table.

"As I was saying, though," the blonde resumed her train of thought immediately. "It's obviously not _nothing_ because you are currently eating pizza, your favorite food, and my answer still managed to make you look unhappy."

"It really _is_ nothing," Percy assured her, rolling his eyes teasingly at her assessment of his current situation. "I was simply under the impression that you weren't working tomorrow so I may, or may not, have planned something for us."

"Oh," Annabeth replied softly, unknowingly mimicking his prior response to her. "What did you have planned?"

"A trip to the beach," Percy told her, casually picking at his half eaten pizza slice. "A helicopter ride."

"I thought you didn't like heights," Annabeth remarked, her voice light and non-committal.

"I don't," Percy confirmed. "But I figured it was worth it." He ran his hands down his face then, after looking up and meeting her eyes, smiled brightly. "It's okay. It's your job, I get it."

"Thanks," Annabeth returned the expression warily and it only turned more genuine when her boyfriend finished his pizza, ruffled her hair, and suggested she come out to the balcony with him.

Despite Percy's understanding nature, Annabeth still felt guilty. The thought of him sitting down and planning it all just for his girlfriend, for _her_ , made her chest fill rapidly with butterflies. And the thought of her turning down his grand gesture suddenly felt selfish and guilty. It had probably cost him a lot of money to plan an entire day for her, and she was about to let him throw that all away.

"Percy," Annabeth bit her lip as she followed him outside to the balcony.

"Mh?" he hummed, wrapping his strong arms around her, and in a gesture so simple she was enveloped in his ever comforting presence, and she was suddenly confident in her decision.

"Don't cancel our plans tomorrow," she told him, inadvertently shivering as he brought his mouth to her ear and then delicately brushed his lips against her pulse point.

"I thought you had to work," Percy whispered against her skin before placing a soft butterfly kiss on the sensitive strip of skin just below her ear.

"I'll manage my way out of it," she assured him casually, her eyes fluttering shut at the feeling of his mouth moving down the column of her neck.

"How?" Percy questioned, his hot words escaping his mouth and tickling her receptive nerves before dancing down her neckline and along her collarbone. His lips quickly followed.

"I'll - I'll fake sick," Annabeth decided, entirely distracted by the enticing feeling of her boyfriend's hands reaching under the large sweatshirt she had just pulled on before coming outside.

"What?" Percy asked, and the vibrations from the single words send a tingle shooting through Annabeth's spine. Then, seemingly processing her statement, Percy, much to her displeasure, pulled away from her. He turned her around so that she was facing him and cupped her face gently, his expression serious. "Are you sure?"

Annabeth grinned and nodded vigorously, completely taken with the genuine care shinning in the blue of his eyes. Percy furrowed his brow, trying to decipher any trace of doubt in her expression. He had barely finished scrutinizing her smile when she giggled giddily, and wrapped a hand around the nape of his neck, pulling their lips together.

"Okay," Percy agreed when they finally parted for a breath of fresh air.

* * *

a/n: shits about to go down. This story will come to an end soon.

Unfortunately.


	69. Chapter 69

a/n: ya, I know.

disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson.

* * *

"I don't know," Piper admitted, her brow furrowing at Annabeth's plan. "I know you love him and all but if you get caught - "

"I won't get caught," Annabeth assured her friend, who had freshly forgiven for her lunch time antics. "Please, Piper. Without your deception skills, I'm not sure this will work."

"Okay," Piper agreed begrudgingly. "I'll help." She turned to walk away but whipped her head back to advise. "And please do not refer to my ability to sweet talk as a skill of _deception_. If anything it is a skill of _love_."

"Whatever you say, Pipes." Annabeth rolled her eyes and began to walk towards her boss only to, similar to Piper, turn back and add. "Thanks, by the way, for forgiving me." Piper raised her brows inquisitively at the blonde's words, surprised by the sudden apology. "I was being a bit sensitive at lunch. I just think I'm not ready to deal with what will happen when summer ends yet."

"Not to push," Piper began tentatively, "but have you two talked about it at all?"

"Barely," Annabeth shook her head with a light, humorless chuckle. Her expression became serious at the turn of a dime, however. "I think I've come to a decision though." She paused and bit her lip, ignorant of the perspective eyes of her friend looking her way. "Well, not a decision exactly. I'm simply leaning one way, teetering really, over the edge, seconds from falling."

"Oh," Piper frowned at the look on her friend's face. It didn't look good. "Any chance of changing your mind?"

"Of course," Annabeth shrugged, her face returning to the usual warm smile. "I haven't actually decided on anything yet."

"Good."

"Besides," Annabeth shook her head and shrugged, putting all her worries out of her mind as her words took a much lighter tone. "You don't even know what I'm leaning towards."

"Right." Piper nodded. "I'll see you tonight then," the brunette said with a broad grin. "You can tell me all about your incredibly romantic day with your perfect boyfriend."

"I'll tell you what I can," Annabeth answered coyly. "I've never exactly been one to kiss and tell."

"Annabeth Chase!" her friend whisper gasped. "What has happened to the prude I know?" The blonde shot her a good natured glare which Piper responded to with a coquettish bat of her eyes. Annabeth shoved her lightly, an amused glint washing across her gray eyes as she rolled her eyes and sauntered away.

Piper took a deep breath and prepared for Annabeth's scheme to begin.

* * *

Percy waited, not so patiently, for his girlfriend to turn up. He tapped his foot against the floor, glancing at his phone every other second.

Percy sat up abruptly at the sound of a loud incessant knocking at the door of his hotel room. He grinned as he quickly made his way over to the entrance and swung the door open. In the doorway stood his girlfriend, taking him in with a broad smile. She was wearing her blue baseball cap with a pair of large dark sunglasses over her eyes.

"Hey," she greeted, pushing him into the room before removing the obstructing attire and pressing a chaste kiss to his mouth. "Sorry, I'm late. My supervisor was impressively insistent that I see the hotel doctor."

"I'm glad you escaped her clutches," Percy replied lightly. He grabbed his jacket and his bag and led Annabeth back to the door.

"Barely," she chuckled, watching his frantic movement with curious eyes.

"C'mon," he kissed her softly on the cheek and opened the front door. "We can talk on the drive over to the tarmac." Annabeth nodded and put back on her cap and glasses in order to not be recognized. She took a deep breath and walk out into the bleak hotel hallway, not realizing it would be the last time she'd ever see it.

* * *

Percy turned the car key and started the ignition. Annabeth turned up the radio and remained silent, keeping her head down, until they had exited the hotel's vicinity. Once they were at a safe distance, she felt comfortable enough to remove her sunglasses though she kept her hat on, just in case.

"How did you convince your supervisor to let you have the day off?" Percy inquired, turning down the music, though he already held an inkling of the lie she'd told from what she'd said earlier.

"Well," Annabeth revealed with a devilish smile that rarely graced her lips. "I convinced Piper to pour a bowl oatmeal on the ground and I kneeled next to it and pretended to be sick."

"And it worked?" Percy questioned, sounding surprised.

"Yes!" Annabeth shot back. "Do you doubt my abilities?" She feigned great offense at his comment.

"I would never," Percy chuckled, reaching over the console to take hold of her hand. He intertwined their fingers and brought her hand up to his lips, giving her a firm kiss. Annabeth hid the slight blush that painted her golden tanned cheeks, but the giddy grin smacked across her face was unmistakable.

"So," Annabeth asked, staring out the window. "Where is this helicopter taking us?"

"Around the bay area," Percy disclosed, careful not to give away too much of his plans. "I specifically asked for our pilot to be knowledgeable in terms of architecture."

"Are you sure?" Annabeth turned towards him, brows creased. "I wouldn't want the trip to be incredibly boring for you."

"As long as I don't lose you to the pilot, I'm sure I'll survive," Percy told her with a good natured smile that smoothened her forehead and put her worries out of her mind. "Besides, it'll be hard for me to concentrate on anything up there."

"I'm sorry," Annabeth bit her lip, trying to hide her excitement in the midst of concern. "I'll hold your hand the whole way," she offered, flashing her boyfriend a winning smile.

"That's all I could ask for," Percy smirked, momentarily glancing her way before returning his eyes to the road. "And maybe a kiss or two in the air."

"I think I could make that happen," Annabeth shrugged, a playful lilt accompanying her voice. She squeezed the green eyed boy's hand and averted her attention to the full bushes and golden fields flying by to her right, a thoughtless smile dancing across her lips the entire time.

* * *

By the time they arrived at the helicopter pad Annabeth was almost bursting with excitement, and Percy was jumping with anxiety strumming his veins. The blonde eagerly pulled her boyfriend forward as their pilot stepped forward to greet the couple.

The dark skinned man eyed the two of them with curious eyes. His gaze lingered on Percy, observing his clear distress with a quirked brow.

"My name is Daniel," the pilot held out a hand and attempted to greet him. Annabeth, noting Percy's lack of attention received the gesture, quickly diverting the pilot's stare.

"I'm Annab - just Anna," she fixed with a stutter, wondering just how much she should reveal to this man. "This is Peter," she pointed to Percy.

"I was under the impression your name was Grover," Daniel frowned, tilting his head thoughtfully.

"He's a friend of mine," Percy explained, snapping out of his nervous trance. "The helicopter ride was a gift."

"Doesn't look like he knows you very well by the sight of you," the pilot chuckled.

"Guess not," Percy managed a weary smile.

"You two follow me," the dark skinned man instructed. Annabeth nodded as her boyfriend's eyes once again darted to the helicopters lined up outside and froze. "Let's go."

The pilot turned away from them and began to walk towards the doors. The couple shadowed behind him, following the pilot as he strode outside. As they exited the building, Annabeth found it was extremely windy and she could barely see as her hair kept flying into her face even though half of it was bound by her baseball cap. She kept one hand on top of her hat, so it would not fly off, and held Percy's with the other. He was shaking and Annabeth was suddenly doused in guilt.

"We don't have to go if you don't want to," she yelled over the loud vehicles around them. "I really don't mind."

"It's fine," Percy assured her and squeezed her hand so hard she worried her small bones might break. "Besides," he breathed, pressing his lips to her ears so she could hear his soft voice despite the loudness whirring that permeated the air surrounding them. "There's no one I'd rather face my fear with."

Annabeth smiled at his comment and turned her head into him so she could press a comforting kiss to his lips. He seized it desperately, sucking every last bit warmth out of her, but producing a fire in the process. The blonde almost forgot where they were as he wound his free hand into her flowing curls and pulled her as close as he could.

"C'mon, love birds!" the pilot's words rang through the tempered air, cutting their intimate moment. "Time to board my babe."

Annabeth pulled away from Percy and frowned slightly at Daniel's strange description of his helicopter. She stepped away from her boyfriend and, after sharing a telling look with him, began to walk towards the backdoor of the helicopter. She was attentive to Daniel's instructions along the way, keeping her head down throughout and carefully climbing into the vehicle.

Annabeth watched through the wide window as Percy did the same, closely and cautiously mimicking her movements, presumably because she had not died in the process. When he finally joined her in the backseat of the helicopter, he was breathing hard and his face was drained of color.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Annabeth inquired, moving so she was seated next to him. Percy nodded but said nothing, pressing his lips into a tight white line. She fastened her seatbelt and watched as he shakily did the same. The blonde was about to help him when their pilot stuck her head in the door, surprising them both.

"How are we doing?" he questioned brightly, his eyes shifting to Percy knowingly as if he expected him to need help. "Allow me to assist you, chap."

Percy was all too happy to forfeit control. Annabeth observed as Daniel strapped the green eyed boy into his chair and then pulled on the seat belt, assuring it was tight enough and would not loosen unexpectedly. He subsequently did the same with Annabeth's belt before giving them both a nod. He handed them a pair of noise canceling headphones and exited the helicopter, closing the door on his way out.

"Our pilot is weird," Percy remarked decidedly into the microphone ended device. Annabeth let out a quiet tinkling laugh, pleased to have her boyfriend at least half back.

"Don't say that while he's flying us," she advised.

"Don't worry," Percy scoffed. "I wasn't planning on angering the man who holds my life in the palm on his hands, or rather in his steering wheel."

"A bit overdramatic," Annabeth quipped playfully. She snuggled her head into the crook of Percy's shoulder and gazed out the window as the pilot's voice came over the radio system. The blonde felt her boyfriend's deep breaths and sighed; she couldn't remember being this happy.

By the time the helicopter was in the air, Percy's muscles were tense and his jaw was locked. Annabeth rubbed slow circles into the soft side of his wrist, trying to ease away the stiffness. And, despite her efforts, she could honestly say she was surprised when Percy began to relax and glance out the window.

Annabeth smiled at her boyfriend's reaction and leaned forward to kiss his neck then the shell of his ear, before turning back to the window and observing the beautiful buildings. Their pilot was, as requested, versed in the architecture they were seeing. He was also, however, as Percy had stated formerly, _weird_.

Although Annabeth couldn't help but find herself immersed and fascinated when Daniel told them the stories of the old buildings and resolved fun anecdotes, he often added small odd details to his stories, facts that had both she and Percy giggling.

" - the husband was a notoriously dangerous man and often dressed up in drag in order to fool their family friends," their pilot supplied, causing Annabeth to bit her lip in order to hide another bout of laughter. "And I have it on good authority that they were not impressed." The blonde could no longer keep it in and hid in Percy's chest, muffling her giggles in the soft cotton of his t shirt. Percy, who was not successful in the seemingly impossible task as well, smothered his deep chuckles in her curls.

Annabeth glanced up at him, pleased that he had gotten over his fear - for the time being at least. She could feel his chest rumbling, and it only prolonged her own amusement. By the time the pair landed, their faces both hurt from smiling.

As they touched the ground, Annabeth held Percy's hand, a grin seemingly imprinted onto her lips. They both stepped off the helicopter and, the minute his feet touched solid cement, Percy let out a sigh of relief.

"I thought you had begun to enjoy it by the end," Annabeth remarked, staring up at him curiously from where she was standing, already having got off of the vehicle.

"I enjoyed spending time with _you_ ," Percy corrected. "Not this flying hell machine." Annabeth exhales sharply through her nose, more a snort than a chuckle. Her boyfriend finalized his descent and took her hand again when he was at, what _he_ deemed, a safe distance from the helicopter.

The couple bid their pilot and tipped him. Percy even slipped him a note saying he enjoyed his stories and the _interesting_ details; he wrote it "brightened their day." Annabeth didn't know whether to hit him or laugh when he told her. She settled for the latter as she _still_ could not wipe that tell tale smile of a girl in love off her face.

"Where are we going now?" Annabeth inquired, almost skipping to where they'd parked Percy's car. As she gazed out into the dull looking street it suddenly struck her as strangely beautiful, and she was finally certain she understood the saying about seeing the world through rose colored glasses.

"The beach," Percy answered, a slight smirk coloring his face. "I have a picnic planned."

"Really?" Annabeth turned towards him, excitement lighting up the gray eyes he'd fallen in love with.

"Mhm," Percy nodded and leaned in to kiss her as she was staring up at him with an adorable look of flushing admiration. "And I have a surprise for you once we get there."  
"How excited should I be?" Annabeth inquired cautiously, gnawing on her pink bottom lip.

"What do you mean?" Percy wondered as they neared his car.

"Well," Annabeth kept her chin down and peered up at him through her sun kissed eyelashes. He felt his groin twitch at the sight. "I don't want to get my hopes up for nothing. So, on a scale from one to ten, how excited should I be?"

"A nine - no," Percy paused, thinking. "Eight and a half," he amended. They had just reached the car, so he stopped and glanced down at his girlfriend to gauge her reaction. She way smiling up at him, her eyes shinning.

"I don't really care," Annabeth confessed in a soft yet confident voice. "It was a setup." She reached out and wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling him close.

"For what?" Percy asked, quirking an inquisitive brow her way.

"To tell you that, no matter the surprise, it'll be a ten as I'm spending time with you." She flushed the second the comment escaped her mouth and buried her face in her boyfriend's shirt for the second time that day.

"Annabeth Chase," Percy chuckled, hooking a finger under her chin and tilting it his way. "That was quite a line." The blonde had no way to hide the blush that burned her face at his words or the smile that inevitably graced her lips. "If I didn't know any better I'd say you were trying to get me to fall in love with you."

"And?" Annabeth questioned, her voice tentative and docile. "Did it work?"

"If that was your intention," Percy lowered his face to her level, allowing his silky smooth words wash over her. "I'd have to tell you it was amiss as I already fell, _deeply_ , in love with you weeks ago."

* * *

a/n: next one will come sooner, promise.

Next chap of Funny Business will come out later tonight.


	70. Chapter 70

a/n: Yes, it took a while, but I promise promise things will normalize as we enter September.

disclaimer: I own nada

* * *

"Where did you get all this?" Annabeth asked incredulously, a wide grin crinkling the corner of her eyes. She gestured wildly to the large cooler full of food and drinks sitting in the back seat of Percy's car.

"Here and there," Percy shrugged, sending her a coy smirk. "I'm not as hopeless at cooking as you might think."

"I never said anything of the sort," the blonde assured him, presenting an affronted facade. "I simply find it difficult to believe you somehow baked creme brulee in that tiny hotel kitchen of yours."

"You never know." Percy glanced her way, chuckling. "Love has been said to produce miracles."

"No miracles of that extent, I'm afraid," she teased back.

He shot her disgraced look which she quickly soothed with a quick kiss to his lips, halting after a second as she remembered he was driving. She shouldn't distract him, no matter how little people there were on this gravel road that supposedly led to a beautiful beach.

"Are you sure we're on the correct road?" Annabeth questioned, sticking her head out her open window and eyeing the green grass and bushes surrounding them.

"Yes." Percy sighed, sounding exasperated, but it was all in good nature. "I've already told you. This is the way my GPS told me to go."

"Just checking," Annabeth responded sweetly, allowing her chin to rest on her folded hand on the edge of the window. She gazed out at the gorgeous scenery and splendid sense of peace that her world so often lacked.

The gray eyed girl found herself so lost among the magnificent flora that she barely noticed as the car gradually slowed. It was only when her boyfriend happily announced "we're here!" that she broke out of her daze and realized they had arrived at the secluded beach.

"What do you think?" Percy asked as he excitedly swung open his door and practically jumped out of his run down Volvo.

"It's beautiful," Annabeth breathed softly, so softly Percy didn't hear her, but she didn't a care, not for the moment anyway, for the beach before she had completely taken her breath away.

The water was sapphire blue and formed into perfect divots and waves, crashing with a soft relaxing noise onto the white sand. The beach, for all Annabeth could see, was completely empty, and she could honestly say she had never been happier to be utterly alone - well, not so alone.

"Annabeth," Percy called from the backseat where he was wrestling the heavy cooler out the back door. "Grab the blankets when you get a chance. I can't hold anything else."

"Right," Annabeth whipped her head to face him and stood up a little bit straight.

She shadowed her boyfriend's movements and stepped out of his car in order to assist him. The blonde grabbed whatever he'd left behind then followed him as he made his way to the water, chuckling softly and retrieving any and everything that he managed to drop on his journey.

"So," Percy said with a grunt as he dropped their beach stuff onto a sunny patch of sand a few feets from the water. "What do you think? You never answered."

"It's amazing," Annabeth answered honestly, discarding the items she was holding where Percy had left the cooler.

The dark haired boy smiled wide at her, his eyes glittering in an almost fantastic manner. He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Annabeth, pulling her into a warm embrace. He looked so at peace here, so natural. She wondered how he'd survived so long in the city.

"Let's eat," Annabeth declared when Percy finally loosened his grasp. "I'm starved."

* * *

It didn't take them long to set everything up. Percy kindly laid out the purple beach towel they were meant to sit on but Annabeth was forced to fix it afterward as it was riddled with wrinkles. Together, they had unpacked the contents of the cooler and spread the food into a circle in front of them.

All in all, it looked like a quite comfortable setup. They talked, for a white really, and the soft crashing of the ocean lulled them into the perfect state.

"What do you mean you were attacked?" Annabeth questioned, laughing at him as he waved his arms around and tried to act out what had occurred. They were both seated on the beach towel, eating the lunch Percy had prepared them.

"Annabeth," Percy said, his voice serious but his eyes dancing with delight. "You don't understand what it was like. This girl threw her _underwear_ at me - "

"Oh." The blonde rolled her eyes as she bit into her sandwich. "Poor you."

" - I was just minding my own business, walking my friend's dog, when I was _assaulted_."

"You didn't press charges did you?" Annabeth asked, her lips flattening momentarily.

"Of course, not," Percy shook his head, the corner of his mouth turning up. "But it doesn't change the facts."

"And those are?" Annabeth chuckled, enthralled with the laid back edge Percy seemed to hold when they were alone, away from all the distractions and complications his life brought him.

"One, I was attacked," Percy declared. "Two, I need someone to heal my wounds. Three, you're my girlfriend, therefore, you are first in line."

"Mend your wounds, huh?" Annabeth inquired, tilting her head and licking her lips, keeping her expression innocent enough. "Should I take you to a hospital then?"

"Mhh," Percy hummed, leaning towards her. "That wasn't the type of mending I had in mind."

"What kind of mending did you have in mind?" Annabeth humored him, unable to resist his intoxicating summer smell as his eyes closed in on hers and his lips brushed against her cheek.

"The… _emotional_ kind," Percy whispered, his voice smooth and soft against her skin. "I must say I found myself quite… _distressed_ after the incident occurred."

"I suppose I _could_ find the kindness deep in my heart to help you," Annabeth replied before pressing her lips to his in what couldn't be called a chaste kiss in any universe imaginable.

Percy lifted both his hands and gripped her waist, dragging his girlfriend across the sand and into his lap. Annabeth, in turn, dropped her half eaten sandwich onto their beach towel and intertwined her fingers in his silky hair.

Percy groaned as her fingers dug into his scalp, sending a mix of pleasure and pain shooting through his system. He growled when she tugged on his lip with her teeth, sending his mind into overdrive.

Percy rapidly flipped them, pushing her seemingly delicate body into the towel. He roughly grasped her wrists and held her them above her head, moving his lips down her neck. He licked and nipped at the column of her neck, leaving delectable marks, and lowering to dip into the neckline of her shirt. The fabric was bent back and exposed the same white bikini she'd been wearing the first time they'd been together.

"Percy," Annabeth whimpered, her hands wiggling under his.

"Yes?" he husked, trailing his lips back over the affected area as he lowered one of his hands to tug up at her attire, attempting to drag her shirt and bathing suit up and over her head in one swift movement.

"We can't right here," she said, and her words halted his movements.

"Why?" he questioned, lifting his lips from her golden skin and hovering them over her bruised lips.

"Have you ever had sex on a beach?" Annabeth asked lightly, a bubbly giggle accompanying her words.

"No," he shook his head slightly, his dark hair falling over his forehead in waves.

"I haven't either," Annabeth told him, pulling her hand from his loosened grip on her wrists and pushing back the strands of darkness obscuring her view of his bright eyes. "But I know it ends with sand _everywhere_."

"Oh," Percy supplied hopelessly. He laid his head down on her chest, calmed by the feel of her chest rising and falling with the speed of his heart. "Smart thinking, I suppose."

"Don't sound too disappointed," Annabeth laughed, her chest rumbling underneath her boyfriends head. She ran her fingers through his sun kissed locks and watched the ocean water swell in and out, covering the sand in a glistening sheen.

"Let's go," Percy said, tracing the direction of her gaze.

"Where?" Annabeth murmured, memorized by the soft sound of the waves as well as the warmth that engulfed her in the rays of sunshine.

"The water," Percy grinned and stood up completely. He took her hand and pulled her up with him. "Let's go swimming!"

"Okay," Annabeth nodded, hiding a chuckle at the glint of childish excitement shining in her boyfriend's eyes.

Together, forgetting about their lunch and open drinks, they ran towards the ocean. Their hands, gently clasped at first, became severe as cold water spilled over their legs and sunk into their hips.

Annabeth squealed loudly as the remnants of a wave crashed onto her torso, soaking her upper body. Percy couldn't help but laugh at her distress which, consequently, caused the blonde to tackle her boyfriend, dunking him into the cold blue. He almost dodged her assault, jumping to the side at the last minute, but she managed her goal nonetheless, pulling him into the cold water alongside her.

They stayed like that, playing in the water, for what felt like hours, until they were both tired out. Then, once their bodies had become accustomed to the temperature, they floated out in the water, their closed eyes facing up at the cloudless blue sky above them.

Annabeth could feel the sunshine prickling at her limbs, awakening them whilst simultaneously setting them into a state of relaxed sleep. She delicately turned her head to the side as to not dislodge her balance. She saw Percy with his eyes shut, his dark eyelashes brushing against his cheekbones and tan skin. He seemed to be absorbing the sun and the sea.

Although she acknowledged that this was the perfect moment to get her revenge on him and plunge her unsuspecting boyfriend deep into the water, he looked so at peace that she felt obliged not to break the serene image. So she returned her head to its previous state and continued to enjoy the beautiful day and Percy's easy presence, knowing it might be taken far too soon.

* * *

"Mhm," Annabeth hummed excitedly, her eyes shining as she proceeded to explain intricacies of the art nouveau movement and the significance and impact it had on certain countries.

Percy pushed his wet fringe out of his eyes and watched the blonde with an adoring gaze. Despite the fact that he'd never previously cared for architecture, Annabeth's passion was infectious and had him incredibly intrigued.

" - Of course, most people think of the Hotel Solvay or the Secession Building in Vienna when they regard the subject. I, however, for some reason find myself impressed by the Gresham Palace in Budapest."

"Interesting," Percy grinned, smirking as he knew none of the buildings she'd just referred to. She bit her lip at his comment and a pink tint flooded her cheeks.

"I can stop if you want," Annabeth shrugged sheepishly. "I know my architectural ramblings can become very boring over time; Luke made that abundantly clear."

"Not at all," Percy shook his head lightly, narrowing his eyes thoughtfully as her lips curled up at the corners. "I enjoy listening to you ramble on about the things you love," he leaned forward and pressed his lips sweetly to hers in a chaste kiss. "I like the way your eyes light up."

"Really?" Annabeth asked, gazing up at him through her lashes.

"It's the same look you get when you look at me," Percy remarked smugly. "Though I'd hope you love me more than the Gresham Palace."

"You really _were_ listening," Annabeth breathed, her heart leaping at the thought. No one except Piper and Jason had ever truly _listened_.

"Why wouldn't I?" Percy considered, retreating back to stare her straight in the eyes. "You do _love_ it, after all."

"Don't worry." Annabeth flashed him a full smile. "I love you more than the entire art nouveau movement."

"Bold words, Chase." Percy leaned back on his elbows, settling into the beach towel in order to listen to the end of her architecture lesson. "You better be prepared to substantiate them."

"H - how do you propose I do that?" Annabeth questioned, faltering as her heart struck an unpleasant chord. She chose to put the sour note our of her mind for the time being though, and focus on the wonderful guy in front of her.

"I'm sure I'll find something," Percy said, shrugging coyly.

Annabeth rolled her eyes good naturedly, clearly noting his line of thought. She picked up the container of cherries and began to eat them as she finished explaining the art nouveau movement to Percy.

* * *

By the time six o'clock rolled around, Annabeth and Percy had completely finished their food but were nowhere near ready to pack up and head home yet. So, the pair decided to trek along the rocky tidepools to the far right of the beach.

Percy, as he possessed prior knowledge of the beach, swore there was a sea cave between the rocks, and, though Annabeth was weary, he had somehow convinced her to explore with him. So they began to walk, leaving their things behind as there was no one else on the beach.

"How did you know you wanted to study marine biology?" Annabeth asked. Between the couple, their intertwined hands were swinging softly, almost as if the wind were pushing them.

"I - " Percy frowned, a crease appearing between his brows as he thought. "I guess my mother never had much money so she couldn't afford any expensive vacation. But, one year, for my tenth birthday she insisted we go somewhere to celebrate my entrance into the double digits."

Percy chuckled at the memory and felt Annabeth's grip around his hand tighten. He glanced over to see her smiling wistfully at him, as if she were also reminiscing on the same memory alongside him.

"So that weekend we drove up to Lake Ontario together. We stayed in a tiny little cabin with nothing but a mattress, a toilet, and a stove. We went out to a nearby dock and she tried to teach me how to fish but soon realized I had absolutely no desire to _hook_ the fish. I simply enjoyed to catching them in my net and observing them."

"And?" Annabeth questioned, leaning her head on Percy's arm as they walked on the soft sand, slowly nearing the tidepools.

"And it was a great birthday. My _best_ birthday actually. It's still my favorite memory. I doubt it'll ever change." Percy swallowed thickly and paused for the length of two steps across the beach before resuming. "That following year, we moved in with Gabe." He felt Annabeth stiffen slightly next to him, but her grip did not loosen. "He was very _very_ concerned with the way my mother 'wasted' her money.

"And, I didn't know at the time, but over those months when it felt like my mom was constantly working, she was setting aside money every day for me. It was just a dollar or two a day, but it was enough.

"On my 11th birthday," Percy continued unraveling his fingers from Annabeth's and pulling his arm around her, bringing her body close against his and relishing in the warmth. "My mother took me to the aquarium and presented me with a seasonal pass that included a dozen classes on marine animals and all different types of algae."

"And ever since then?" Annabeth queried, her eyes straying up to his as she posed the question.

"Yep," he nodded, a faint smile gracing his lips. "That aquarium became my second home and one day I hope I can help the facility out like it helped me as a kid."

"How very noble of you," Annabeth remarked, her comment light but her tone almost glorifying him.

"What about you?" Percy asked, facing her. "What about architecture has you so enthralled?"

"I'm not sure," Annabeth supplied, careful consideration painting her expression. "I suppose it just came to me. All my life I'd been staring at buildings, taking them apart in my head. One day it just hit me. I love architecture."

"Have you considered what your minor might be?" Percy questioned thoughtfully. "Assuming architecture is your major."

"I've always thought physics was very interesting," she stated, biting her lip as the thoughts swept across her mind. "But with, considering my plan of pursuing a career as an architect, it might be smarter to study communications or a subject in the humanities."

"I think, whatever you do," Percy gazed down at her as he spoke, "you'll find you're an amazing architect."

"Thanks, Percy," Annabeth replied, a lovely rose color brushing her cheeks.

"So," her boyfriend segwayed. "What is our plan for the summer?" At his words, Annabeth felt a familiar feeling of dread curl into her throat, restricting the ability of her larynx.

"Um," she swallowed thickly. "Could - could we talk about it another time? I just want to be happy right now."

"I suppose." Percy eyed her oddly. "Why would the conversation make you _unhappy_?"

"Percy," she pleaded, her eyes wide as she stared up at him. "Please."

"Okay," he agreed, and they continued to walk towards the tidepools.

When they arrived, Annabeth was disheartened to see there were barely any sea creatures living in the small pools. So, with some tugging from Percy, Annabeth and her boyfriend stepped into the dark sea cave only a few feet away, completely unaware that they moment they exited the small oasis, trouble would follow.

* * *

a/: I'll update soon enough.


	71. Chapter 71

a/n: it's here. long-ish.

beta love to cRawr.

disclaimer: no ownership

* * *

"Percy Jackson," Annabeth uttered forcefully, scandalized by his actions. "If that crab comes a _centimeter_ closer to me, I swear to the gods I will murder you in your sleep."

"Okay," Percy set down the dead crustacean. "Fine." Annabeth watched with suspicious eyes as he pulled back, raising his arms in surrender.

When the blonde was satisfied with the sight, she turned around and continued on their journey out the cave. Just as she pivoted, however, she felt a cold sharp claw poke the skin of her shoulder. She whipped her head around to see a _different_ crab sitting on her shoulder.

"Percy!" Annabeth screamed, roughly brushing the crab off her shoulder. She saw him behind her, trying to contain a laugh. "You're going to regret doing that," she warned, peering into his eyes while attempting to hold in the small smile peeking at her lips.

"I'm sure I'll survive," Percy shrugged, leaning forward and pressing a chaste kiss to her mouth, effectively silencing his short chuckles.

"Just wait," she whispered when he pulled back, wiggling her brows at him threateningly.

"It's almost four," Percy informed with a smile as he glanced down at his watch. "Should we get going?"

"Ugh," Annabeth groaned loudly, forgetting his earlier transgression and throwing her arms around her boyfriend. "I don't want to go," she moaned. "This day has been so incredibly wonderful."

"I don't want to go back either," Percy muttered, reciprocating the embrace and holding her tight against his chest.

"C'mon," Annabeth sighed, pulling away after a minute or so. "I'm worried that dead crab might come to life."

"Really?" Percy laughed. "Horror movies don't scare you, but a potential zombie crab is enough for you to leave your boyfriend's arms."

"You won't be my boyfriend for long if you keep making crab jokes," Annabeth warned good-naturedly.

Percy grinned and took the blonde by the hand, dragging her away from the creepy crustacean.

"Why are you so afraid of crabs?" he laughed, taking her in his arms and slowly leading her towards the light emitted from the mouth of the cave.

"Too much like spiders," Annabeth muttered with a shudder.

Percy's lips couldn't help but stretch into a cheek-splitting smile, imagining the beach days in the future. Annabeth, glancing up at him, found herself in a similar situation, unable to fight the sweet curving of her lips.

The couple walked together to the end of the dark cavern. The light shone down on them as they exited the cave, hand in hand. The sun was bright, very _very_ bright outside, so bright they could barely see.

It took a second for the realization to present itself, but after several squinted flutters of her eyelashes, Annabeth turned to Percy, her heart dropping as the scattered lights fought to invade her vision.

"Shit," she saw Percy uttered before meeting her stunned eyes. Camera flashes flashed across the gloss of her irises, and it suddenly hit him.

Annabeth stared at Percy with questioning eyes as the paparazzi around, having realized their cover was blown, began to forcefully throw inquiries at them.

 _Run_ , Percy mouthed to his girlfriend, bitterly releasing her hand from his grasp in order to divert the cameras.

The blonde nodded and, the moment Percy yelled, calling all attention to him, she took off down the beach in the direction of their picnic. Annabeth tried to focus only on her feet hitting the sand as quickly as possible, but found it difficult to clear her mind as she could hear fumbling footsteps behind her.

Annabeth forced herself to swallow, having completely lost her breath while desperately wishing they'd packed their picnic up before going on their walk. Shadows clawed at the corner of her peripherals and she knew she was being followed.

When she reached their blanket, Annabeth threw herself to the ground, grabbing any valuables and stuffing them into the red cooler. She was visibly relieved to see the photographer several paces behind her having brought all their supplies.

"Leave it!" Annabeth heard Percy's voice boom from somewhere behind her. "Get in the car!"

The blonde ignored him, taking the cooler in her arms and marching towards the car while balancing the heavy object. Just as the neared the car, she once again heard rapid steps originating behind her.

Annabeth picked up the pace and attempted to swing open the car door only to realize it was locked. Gasping, the blonde tore through the cooler, looking for anything that might help her. Finally, she located Percy's sweatshirt and desperately carded through the pockets.

Annabeth let out a wild sigh as her fingers wrapped around the jagged metal. She quickly unlocked the passenger door and threw the cooler into the back of Percy's Volvo.

She was about to climb in herself when her boyfriend's voice rang loudly across the beach and she glanced up to see him running towards her, tailed by a dozen paparazzi.

"Drive!" he seemed to be shouting. She couldn't be sure, but she wasn't taking any chances.

Annabeth jumped away from the car, not bothering to shut the passenger door and stumbled towards the driver's side. She blindly reached for the door handle, keeping her eyes on Percy, and in the hasty process, dropped the car keys into the weeds below.

"Fuck," Annabeth exclaimed quietly, her breath shallow. She dropped down to her knees, ignoring the pain that echoed through her as something small pierced her skin, and searched for the keys in the greenery.

The blonde found the keys just in the nick of time. Annabeth pulled herself up and shoved the keys into their slot, starting the ignition and pulling the car into reverse just as Percy's hands slid across the hood.

The green-eyed boy jumped into the vacant passenger seat while his girlfriend backed away from the photographers at an alarming speed. Once Annabeth felt the paparazzi was a sufficient distance away, she pulled the car into drive and did a proper U-turn before speeding off.

"Are you okay?" Percy ventured, finally having caught his breath.

"No!" Annabeth snapped back, keeping her eyes pinned to the cross-country road before them. "I'm not _okay_ , far from it in fact." Her fingers tightened around the wheel of the car.

"I'm so sorry, Annabeth," Percy sighed, concern intricately laced through his tone. He ran his fingers through his hair, tugging roughly at the dark strands. "I don't know how they found us. I thought we were being careful by using Grover's name and - " he cut himself off with a groan.

"It doesn't matter how hard we _tried_ to keep this secret," Annabeth hissed, her mouth growing dry at her own words. "It irrelevant now that I'm going to lose my job and I'm gonna have to go back to San Francisco. I don't have money, I don't have a place to stay, I - " she continued to ramble anxiously until Percy interjected.

"No," he assured her. "You won't lose your job. I'll make sure of it."

"How?" Annabeth breathed, glancing over at him for the first time since their departure from the beach.

"I'll figure it out," Percy shrugged. "I figured it out last time and I'll do it again."

"Okay," Annabeth said, swallowing what fear she could.

"I won't lose you, Annabeth," Percy promised her, both chilling and warming her heart at the same time. "I _can't_ lose you."

The blonde nodded, staying decidedly silent.

* * *

When they made it back to the hotel, Annabeth parked the car on the side of road, at the edge of the divot where they used to say goodbye.

"Are you sure you don't want me to drive you all the way in?" Percy questioned, frowning slightly.

"It's okay," Annabeth replied with a small shake of her head. She turned off the engine and they both exited the car. The blonde reached into the backseat and rummaged through their stuff which had been thrown around amidst of their escape, searching for her baseball cap and her clothes.

"Don't worry, Annabeth," Percy reassured her for the umpteenth time as she tugged on her jean shorts, covertly wincing as the denim brushed against her injured knee. "I'll do whatever I can to get rid of those photos."

Annabeth pulled on her t-shirt and met his sorrowful gaze with a comforting smile. She leaned forward and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips.

"I love you," she whispered, millimeters away. The words, sweet, were swept into his mouth, onto his tongue leaving him speechless.

"I love you too," he gasps against her mouth, hoping, _praying_ that everything would be alright.

Percy watched Annabeth from inside his car until her blonde looks were long lost before allowing his head to fall forward, resting against his steering wheel. He took a deep sobering breath, breaking away from the intoxicating high of her presence, and considered the very real situation they were dealing with before mustering the sanity and driving back to his hotel room to make some calls.

* * *

"I don't understand," Percy ground out, directing a cold yet confused gaze towards the man in front of him. "What do you mean you can't control him?"

"What I mean," the owner explained, "is that someone must not like you _or_ you're pretty little girlfriend because they've paid an excessive amount of money to one of my men and, as a result, he's gone rogue; He's completely cut all communication with us, and he isn't listening to anybody at the company anymore."

Percy closed his eyes and sighed, trying not to let this small inescapable detail because him to lose his mind. "If I wanted to contact him," he inquired. "How would I go about that?"

"He's a very private man," the dark-haired man began, and Percy fought a groan, realizing exactly where this way going. "Though I suppose I _could_ spare a phone number and an address if I found the return _sufficient_."

"And what I've given you isn't enough?" Percy hissed, growing angry.

"The price just went up another hundred," the man remarked casually, sipping at his drink. "Are you going to keep arguing or are you going to hand over my payment."

"Fine," Percy bit out. "But if this address or number is fake, I'll know exactly who to look for."

The dark-haired man chuckled. "You're a fucking _kid_ ," he spat. "Don't forget yourself."

Percy gritted his teeth at the comment but didn't respond, just slammed an envelope of cash on the table and threw two more hundred dollar bills on top of it. "I'll expect the information by tonight."

"Yeah, yeah," the dark man waved his hand, eagerly taking the envelope and stuffing into his jacket pocket. "You'll get it."

Percy took a deep breath and left the less than pleasant establishment.

* * *

Percy trudged back into his room, his muscles tired and his mind threatening to fall apart. He dragged himself across the hotel room, slipping off his shoes and shirt before tumbling into his bed.

He was just kissing the seams of sleep when his phone rang, a terrible noise in the quiet solitude the late night had provided him.

Percy grudgingly reached for the device before pulling it to his ear and answering with a bitter: "What?"

"Percy," Grover's concerned voice filled the line. "Dude, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Percy groaned, sitting up in order to stay away. "Why?"

"I got an alert from the bank that you withdrew a shit load of money," Grover explained, speaking quickly and beginning to ramble a bit. "I don't know if something going on. Are you in some kind of trouble? Is your mom? I thought you just had that fixed. You can tell me anything; you know that, right?"

"It's fine, Grover," Percy interjected, momentarily wondering what would have happened if he'd remained silent. "I just had to take care of some stuff."

"What kind of stuff?" Grover questioned harshly. "What could you possibly need that much money for, Percy?!"

"It's personal," Percy hushed him. "None of your business."

"What do you mean it's none of my business?" Grover asked, his voice suddenly quiet and shy. "What happened, Percy?" He paused, allowing the question to sink in, burning and sizzling the pit of Percy's mind. "We used to be best friends. You used to tell me _everything_ , and now you can't tell me what kind of trouble you're in."

"I just…" Percy started but trailed off, unsure what to say.

"Tell me," his friend pleaded over the phone. "Maybe I can help, or at least _understand_."

"I - Okay," Percy agreed softly before pressing his lips together, wondering where to begin. "I met this girl."

"Okay," Grover acknowledged, moving him along. "How did you meet her?"

"At a bar," Percy sighed, wistfully remembering their first encounter. "She was a waitress, and she was sarcastic and feisty and _fuck_ , I loved it.

"So," Percy continued. "I asked her out, and she said no." Grover made a noise of amusement across the phone. "So I asked again and again and I ended up practically tricking her into agreeing."

"Sounds healthy," his friend snorted quietly before going silent once again, allowing him to finish his story.

"We went out on a 'friend-date' and she was so great and so real and so unexpectedly amazing that I couldn't imagine being _just_ friends with her." Percy paused, thinking about their first time and wondering how much to reveal to his friend. "We became _very_ close very quickly. There were a few arguments here and there but it was generally smooth sailing except for one glaringly clear fact: it was hotel policy that she couldn't date clients… still is.

"And even if it _wasn't_ against the rules, she was very clear with me that she had no desire to be famous, no desire to be thrust into the spotlight due to our relationship. As a result, we've been forced to keep our relationship secret, hiding from paparazzi and hanging out mostly in my hotel room.

"But then, today, I convinced her to take off work and come to the beach with me. We were laughing and talking and swimming and just having fun when paparazzi showed up and, for the first time, got a clear photo of us together."

"That's what you spent the money on?" Grover asked, his voice gliding kindly to Percy's ears, comforting him in a way only his childhood friend knew how to.

"Yes," Percy replied, defeated. "I did what I had to do. I can't lose her. I don't know what I'd do without her. I think about her all the time, want to be _with_ her all the time. I might die without her voice and her eyes and - _fuck_ \- her fucking laugh. She tears me to pieces and reassembles me all in one elegant movement."

"You love her?" Grover queried, though, by his tone, it was clear he already knew the answer.

"Yes," Percy said softly, the corner of his lips turning up despite the knot in his chest.

"I hope it was enough," his friend bid him. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, you sound exhausted."

"I am," Percy supplied blankly. There was a pause as Grover went to end the call, but he heard the green-eyed boy's voice come over the speaker at the last minute. "Thank you, Grover. I really needed this."

"It's no problem," Grover said with a smile. "I'm always here for you, Percy."

"Night."

"Night."

* * *

Annabeth woke up the next morning with dread bubbling in her gut and angst slicing through any and all of her thoughts. She managed to quickly ready herself, shakily brushing her teeth and taming her curls into a ponytail.

When Annabeth left her room, she was practically jumping with nerves. As she entered the emporium, however, and presented herself to her supervisor, she was relieved to see no one staring or whispering about her.

"Stocking shelves," her supervisor instructed her shortly. "Boxes are over there." And with barely a sentence and a point, Annabeth was sent away.

The blonde took a deep breath, feeling as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders, and began to restock the front of the emporium. As she performed the tedious task, she found herself wondering how she would have reacted if Percy _hadn't_ fixed things, if they _had_ been exposed.

Annabeth could honestly say she had no idea. She was completely torn; She loved Percy, there was no doubt about that. She hated spending a second away from him. But she also valued her privacy and she _needed_ the money this job provided her. To lose both those facets in one sweep would have left a considerable impact on her livelihood.

Annabeth sighed loudly as she stacked another set of t-shirts into their designated set of shelves, relieved she'd never had to make the choice between Percy and her life. Purposefully ignorant of the fact that she would have to make a decision at the end of the summer, paparazzi or not.

"Morning." A high-pitched voice suddenly broke her moment of wistful fantasy.

"Lola," Annabeth greeted with a polite nod of her head, her fleeting glance only partially betraying her indifferent attitude. "Did you need something?"

"I did," Lola grinned, showing off her perfect white smile. "But I've already taken care of it."

"So you don't need any help?" Annabeth clarified, slightly confused by the turn of phrase.

"No."

The gray-eyed blonde raised her brows at the other before turning back to her job. Annabeth resumed to restocking the items, but, not matter how long she seemed to wait, she could still feel Lola's irritating presence lingering uncomfortably close to her backside.

"Is there a specific reason you insist on loitering behind me?" Annabeth questioned finally, facing the bleach blonde fiercely.

"It's a pity really," Lola remarked softly, raking her figure with her eyes. "I honestly think under different circumstances we could have been friends."

"What are you talking about?" Annabeth demanded in a hissed whisper.

"You have such ambition," Lola tilted her head thoughtfully, reaching forward to gently finger a ringlet of gold. Annabeth pulled away rapidly at her movement and, in turn, Iola withdrew her hands. "It's what sets us apart from the rest… but it is also the reason we find ourselves so thoughtlessly tearing each other down."

"Lola," Annabeth sighed exasperated, the ball of nerves that had previously dissipated making a reappearance. "If you're aren't going to give me a straight explanation than you might as well leave, I'm not a shopgirl today. I'm not even supposed to be talking to you right now." She masked the surprise that had blossomed the newly intellectual sounding vocabulary.

"Bye, Annabeth," Lola replied, staring at the junior employee as if deaf to her prior words. With that, the bleach blonde turned on her heeled sandals and strut away, an air of finality lingering in the air where she'd previously stood.

Annabeth blinked. Once. Twice.

Before shaking her head in a bemused manner and rolling her eyes at the cryptic statement. She took a deep breath and proceeded to commit herself to the job at hand.

It was only later she'd wonder if she should have listened to her rival, perhaps her enemy had been trying to warn her, perhaps she'd simply been rubbing it in her face; Annabeth would never know.

* * *

Annabeth was just finishing up her shift at the Emporium when a fellow employee informed her her presence was required in Shirley's office. The blonde, thinking nothing of it, nodded simply and sauntered to her supervisor's office, inwardly brainstorming ways to make up yesterday to Percy.

"Ms. Chase," her supervisor stated rather than greeted as she entered the small office.

It was the first sign of trouble.

"Yes?" Annabeth asked, her eyes narrowing curiously. "Did you need something?"

"No," Shirley shook her head, watching the young girl with questioning eyes. "You need to go see Bill."

"Oh." Annabeth frowned, a small crease forming between her brows. "Should I go now or after - "

"Now," her supervisor cut her off.

"Okay," the blonde nodded, her stomach doing unpleasant flip flops. "Do you know why he would like to see me?"

Shirley was silent, eyeing her with seemingly confused eyes. "No," she said finally, her blank tone only marginally calming Annabeth.

* * *

The walk to Bill's office was entirely unpleasant, full of desperate calls and angst-filled gasps.

Annabeth had first called Percy, of course, and, when he didn't answer, she called him again, and again. And, when he _still_ didn't answer, she felt a flicker of her hope slip away in a shallow breath.

Then she'd called Piper. Her friend answered and Annabeth voiced her worries, spilling her concerns in an attempt to rid herself of their dark control.

"Calm down," Piper told her. "You're going to be fine," she insisted. "If anyone would know, it would be _me_ ," she claimed.

Still, as Annabeth stood outside Bill's office doors, her trembling hand hovering dangerously over the glass door, a mere movement from knocking, she realized she had only herself to blame for anything that happened.

She'd been perfectly aware of the rules, perfectly aware of her own financial situation. She had known from the start their relationship was a bad idea; despite it, however, despite any and all doubts, she'd allowed herself to fall, and fall she did, - _Gods_ , _did she fall_ \- into the safety of his arms, into the mischief in his eyes, into the intoxicating dream-like condition of his pure presence.

So Annabeth let her fist fall, repeatedly onto the door then into the open space as the door swung open and angry manager faced her.

"Annabeth Chase," Bill prompted, not bothering to shake her hand. "I should think you are late."

"I…" Her mouth went dry, her throat threatening to close up on her. " - had trouble finding your office, sir," she lied quickly.

"Of course," he nodded, though the gesture appeared more a mock than an acknowledgment of her statement. "Sit down," he instructed in a voice that inspired no opposition.

Annabeth followed.

The blonde, sitting in view of his burning gaze, nervously crossed her legs and clasped her hands tightly, beckoning the blood from her knuckles.

"I'm sure you know why I have called you here, Ms. Chase," Bill began once she was appropriately uncomfortable.

"I'm afraid I do not, sir," Annabeth replied politely, restraining from gnawing on her bottle lip as it might be seen as a sign of culpability.

"Let me show you then," Bill grimaced, a cold smile ushering onto his thin lips. He shifted in his seat and turned his computer monitor so Annabeth could see it.

Her heart dropped and she knew, she was _so_ fucked.

* * *

a/n: so shit went down. it's basically the final conflict and the rest of the story is all the resolution to it. I would expect two or three more chapters and a lengthy lengthy epilogue.

swear wait won't be as long next time round as I have most of the next chapter written.

Gracias, ciao


	72. Chapter 72

disclaimer: ugh

* * *

"I see," Annabeth supplied helplessly, nothing intellectual managing to make its way across her mind, as her body had seemingly gone numb.

"I'm only going to ask you once, Ms. Chase," Bill said stiffly, turning his monitor back towards him and clasping his hand on the table in front of him. "Are you and Percy Jackson partaking in a romantic relationship?"

Annabeth licked her suddenly dry lips and parted them to reply, but, once again, she found words had escaped her. _We're just old friends_ , she had planned to argue. _The photos are just out of context_. Yet here, in front of her, stood a picture of her and Percy, their identities clear as day, kissing on the beach.

There was no talking her way out of this one, that was for sure.

"I'm very sorry, sir," Annabeth admitted after a second of regaining her thought process. "I hadn't planned for it to occur, it just happened."

"While I understand that celebrities can be very… _entrancing_ ," he seemed to be choosing his words carefully. " - it does not change the fact that you were well aware of the company policy against relationships with guests."

"I know." Annabeth head dipped in embarrassment, hot tears pooling at the corners of her eyes.

"You are to be terminated, effective immediately," he informed her, his voice all business.

"But sir - " Annabeth tried to argue, trying to manage words despite the desperation rising in her throat, choking her.

"You knew the rules, Ms. Chase," Bill cut her off with a swift shake of his head. "And besides, you broke company policy in going to the beach with him in the first place as you were reported sick."

"I need this job," Annabeth pleaded. "Without it I can't afford a place to live, I need to save, for college, for my _future_ \- "

"You should have considered your future before you decided to break hotel staff policy," Bill told her, his voice stern but his eyes soft. "I'm disappointed in you. I expected more from you, Ms. Chase. You were one of our best Junior Employees. You were in line to win the bonus."

Annabeth smothered her head in her hands, regretting the night she'd met Percy. She had sacrificed her _future_ for him, for something that couldn't last past the summer.

"It is for that reason only," Bill continued. "That I am not withholding your final paycheck as stated in the employee agreement you signed at the beginning of the year."

"Sir - " Annabeth tried to cut in again only to be spoken over.

"I wish you luck in your future endeavors," Bill told her. "I will have someone help you gather your things. You need to be off the premises by three o'clock. You are expected to find your own transportation home. We can have a cab arranged if that's what you please."

"But that's only two hours - "

"I told you," he interrupted. "You will have someone to help you with the move."

Bill stood up and ushered Annabeth towards the door before she could say another word.

"I almost forgot," he said while actively pushing her out of his office. "I need your phone."

"My phone?" Annabeth laughed humorously, wondering if this was some grand joke.

Bill nodded seriously.

"But it's _my_ phone."

"I realize," Bill gestured to his secretary. "She will provide you with adequate compensation, but you'll need to hand yours over as it may hold valuable company secrets."

"Valuable company secrets?" Annabeth repeated back to him incredulously.

"It was all in the contract you signed," Bill shrugged, his demeanor alarming unsympathetic. "You should have had your lawyer look through it beforehand."

"I can't afford - " Annabeth tried, but Bill silenced her with a glare and shake of his head.

"Phone," he insisted, holding out his hand.

Annabeth, her throat dry, removed her phone from her back pocket with trembling hands. She glanced at it, wondering how many pictures, memories, texts she was giving away.

"Can I get it back?" Annabeth asked, frowning deeply as she dropped the device into his outstretched hand.

"Don't plan on it," Bill told her casually before turning away from her and stalking back into his office without another word.

Annabeth stood in the larger part of his private lobby, completely speechless, for a full minute before his secretary got her attention.

"What model phone was it?" she questioned, reaching for the company checkbook.

* * *

"Hey," Piper greeted sounding rather irritated as Annabeth pried open the door to their room. "Where have you been? I've been waiting. I thought - "

Her words caught in her throat at the extremely stiff woman following behind the blonde.

"What's going on?" Piper demanded suddenly, her voice a deadly whisper.

"I'll explain in a minute," Annabeth told her, still on the edge of tears.

"Is it…?" Piper trailed off, her eyes darting to the hotel employee trailing Annabeth and wondering whether or not to fill in the blank.

Annabeth nodded, the movement so small it was barely noticeable. Piper's teeth dug into her bottom lip in response, realizing the gravity of the situation.

"What's happening?" Piper questioned loudly, turning to the supervisor who was now lingering awkwardly in their small kitchenette.

"Nothing of your concern," the tall brunette answered sharply, her dark eyes carefully tracing Annabeth's movements. "Your friend has been asked to vacate the premises, and she is doing just that."

"Vacate the premises?" Piper repeated back shakily, fear slithering down her throat, curling unpleasantly around her heart.

"Yes," the woman replied shorted, the flat of her tongue sliding against her teeth in annoyance.

"Just help me pack," Annabeth pleaded. "I can't say anything."

"But - " Piper demanded, staring wide-eyed at her friend.

"Please, Piper," Annabeth hissed, jerking her head in the direction of the bathroom. "Help me clean up my makeup."

"Okay," the brunette agreed begrudgingly, padding barefooted into their joint bathroom.

Once they were both inside, Annabeth shut the flimsy door behind her, hoping it would block the slightest of noise from the woman still standing menacingly in their kitchen.

"What's going on?" Piper asked, louder than comfortable for the blonde.

"Be quiet," Annabeth whispered aggressively to her friend. "I'm not technically allowed to talk about it."

"What's happening?" Piper rephrased, quieter this time. "Did you and Percy get caught?"

Annabeth nodded, sucking her bottom lip into her mouth as she considered her next words. "I've been fired. I have to leave. I haven't been able to reach Percy, will you tell him I'm going to Thalia's?" she asked, trailing off as a soft gasp shook her. "... if he asks."

"What do you mean _if he asks_?" Piper queried, her eyes darting wildly around her friend's features, considering the complexity of their movements.

"I - I don't know," Annabeth shook her head, tears threatening to betray the true level of her emotion. "Just tell him… _please_."

"Okay," Piper nodded and swallowed thickly, feeling her throat becoming tight and scratchy.

"I'll call you and explain when I get to Thalia's," Annabeth assured her before roughly shoving all her toiletries into her makeup pack and striding out the bathroom door.

It wasn't long until Annabeth's tidy organized piles were safely secured in the baggage she'd arrived with. The blonde shared one final gut-wrenching hug with her best friend before making her exit, slowly walking away from the grand hotel that had been the center of her life for the past two months.

She reached Thalia's car and livened at her tough friend's knowing smile.

"Thanks," she uttered softly, barely a whisper in the cool midday wind, as the blue-eyed girl took the bags from her and threw them into the trunk.

"No problemo," Thalia replied and wrapped her arms tightly around her friend when the task was finished. "Are you okay?" she inquired, glaring at the back of the older brunette who had escorted Annabeth out.

"No," Annabeth shook her head, muffling her almost tears in her friend's dark hair. "But I think I will be."

"Good," Thalia assured her with a pitiful positivity. "That's all that matters, anyway."

"I hope you're right," Annabeth aired as she withdrew from her friend's arms. After shooing her weirdly attentive friend away, she opened the passenger door and got in the vehicle.

As Thalia started the car, Annabeth rolled down her window and savored her last sight of Hotel Escape. She'd always thought the moment would be a relief, or perhaps bittersweet, but the feeling was neither of the sentiments, perturb rather than relief, bitter rather than sweet.

The car engine roared to life and the wheels slowly rolled them out of the highway. Annabeth's gray eyes remained on what had seemed such a tedious experience at one time, how could she have anticipated all that came of one simple shift switch with Piper?

"Bye," Annabeth sighed and felt her words ghost over her fingertips, dancing on an ocean breeze as it flew past them. And there the blonde remained, her gaze fixed on the hotel, a wistful sort of look in it, a slight reminder of simpler days before her heart had stupidly decided to get involved.

* * *

Piper wanted nothing more than to track Percy down at yell at him until she quite literally passed out. Despite her own very justified desires, however, Piper's conscience forced her to do what she _knew_ Annabeth would have wanted her to do: go to work.

Piper trudged to her job at the Sandbar, her heels clicking loudly in rhythm to an imaginary Annabeth in her head, ranting on about having underage girls serve alcohol. It was strangely comforting, even though the brunette knew her friend was not walking next to her - stumbling more like it - even though she realized there were no bustling golden curls hiding in her peripherals, even though every physical trace of her had vanished. It helped to think that, despite her obvious absence, her hungry spirit somehow burned on in her heart.

As the brunette's night went on, she found herself quite hating everything and everyone she encountered. It was so unlike her, to allow her misgivings to haunt her, yet here she was, unreasonably angry with a customer for requesting they play "Dancing Queen".

It wasn't until after a conversation with a certain bleach blonde, however, that her spirits were damped to a point of no return.

"You look awfully solemn," Lola remarked as she took a seat at the bar, next to the brunette who had been waiting for her drinks to be readied. "I suppose she's gone then, right?"

"Excuse me?" Piper questioned harshly, whipping her head towards the offender.

"Your friend," Lola said casually. "Has she been fired yet?"

"What are you talking about?" Piper asked, feigning naivety, unaware of the hurt imprinted deep in her fine features.

"Don't play dumb," Lola scoffed. "The trait seems to only fit me."

"Did you have something to do with her termination?" Piper demanded, dropping her ill-fitting facade.

" _Termination_ ," Lola repeated back, rolling her eyes as she motioned for the bartender to bring her the usual. "You make it sound so severe."

"It _is_ severe - " Piper insisted in a hiss.

"Regardless," Lola dismissed with a wave of her hand. "I didn't get her fired. She was fired for being a high-class slag, something she managed all on her own."

"Do you hate her so much?" Piper asked, knitting her brows together, unable to comprehend a loathing so strong.

"No." Lola's features set into an expression of contemplation before explaining herself. "I suppose I don't hate her as much as I don't _like_ her."

"Dislike isn't nearly a strong enough emotion for what you've done to her," Piper reasoned. "There has to be something else."

The brunette's drinks came, but the pair ignored them, disregarding any and all outside interaction, for the time being at least.

"I liked Percy," Lola shrugged. "She got him, I didn't." The blonde bit her lip, her gaze dancing across Piper's bare shoulder and onto the alcohol filled air. "I guess I just couldn't stand the thought of her being worth more than me."

"So you got her fired because a guy liked her more than he liked you?" Piper repeated, her heart falling at the level of pettiness that had led to her friend's dismissal from her position. "Do you realize how immature that is?"

"I never claimed what I did was right," Lola offered, pulling her lips into a slight frown, her icy eyes flashing up to meet Piper's for a split second, a flicker of something close to remorse swimming in the pools of blue. "It's what I was taught: Identify the competition, exterminate the competition, and rise."

Piper was silent for a second, licking her dry lips and considering the blonde before her, wondering if the slight glance, if the swelling gleam of regret was enough.

"It's a sad way to live," Piper said finally, her voice soft, barely audible in the loud environment that had barely managed to tune out.

"It's worked so far," Lola argued, an unusual lack of venom to her words.

"I - I think," Piper mused out loud, "in the end, you'll find your life rather inadequate."

"I suppose we'll see, won't we?"

Lola pushed a strand of her straight blonde hair behind her golden dressed ear and allowed her eyes to once again wander around the room, taking in her surroundings in a seeming new light.

"I guess we will," Piper agreed before falling into silence beside her, her own eyes cast to the dark wood floorboard of the dance floor.

"I should go," Lola decided finally, her voice tipping at the end of phrase, as if asking the brunette in question.

"I should get back to work," Piper returned, and Lola nodded, her platinum hair falling into her eyes, bestowing a shadow over the orbs that threatened to break her.

And with that, Piper resumed her post, the tips she had lost in her absence the farthest thought from her mind.

* * *

Luke, who hadn't managed a good night's sleep in days due to his indisputable trespasses, had found his chest unbearably heavy at the news, practically caving at the impact.

It was the feeling of utter and consummate guilt that had propelled his every foot forward, across the resort, in and out of buildings, to _her_ building, to _her_ door.

It was the possibility of absolution, however, that had him kneeling, his hands spread across the thin wood even after the cold realization that she was already gone.

And that was how Percy found him, perched at her doorstep, eyes shut in the complexity of his sentiment, waiting, hoping she might just appear, a miracle of his own virtuous craving.

"What are you doing here?" Percy questioned as he approached the teenager, his voice low and soft, a quiver of the fear curdling inside him at the solemn sight.

The young actor had just finished a long day of shooting. He'd noticed the missed calls and, after receiving no response to his repeated attempts at communication, he'd driven over, naive to the true gravity of the situation.

"You don't know?" Luke asked, glancing up at him, disbelief dancing across ice as it encountered green.

"What happened?" Percy demanded, his words a sharp exhale, rippling across his unsteady breath as he lowered himself to the blonde's level.

"She's gone," Luke supplied vaguely, lighting a beacon of momentary false hope before clarifying. "Fired, dismissed, ousted."

"Why?" Percy breathed, and Luke needn't hear the inaudible words to understand.

"You," he stated decidedly, watching as Percy's eyes skated across the hall, his figure falling stiffly onto the carpet next to him.

"Me?" Percy asked, desperately trying to breathe in the face of the harsh finality of candor.

"You," Luke repeated, allowing his forehead to fall back against her cheap white door, finding himself unusually empathetic towards the green-eyed boy he'd fixed to loathe as they were both forced to bask in the biting guilt, a result of their utter inability to distance themselves from love despite the consequences.

* * *

Piper treaded heavily across the rain kissed sidewalk as she made her way home. She reached the door to her building, pressed her card to the scanner, and pried it open.

It was then she noticed the two young men sitting in front of her door and forced herself to wade through the thick air to reach them, trekking across the dark expanse that seemed to clutch at her heart, her stomach, her lungs, making it nearly impossible to breathe.

As she neared the door, two pairs of eyes flicked up to her's, mirroring her attitude to a level of duplicity that she was forced to restrain herself from falling to pieces before their feet.

"You heard?" she inquired blankly, carding around her messy bag for her keys, despising her mind for conjuring memories of a very organized blonde who always managed to get her's out first.

"Yes," Luke replied the words Percy only mouthed, his wretched soul, still in the midst of recovery, unable to do more than lightly form the syllables.

Piper nodded silently as she found her key. She slid it into place and pushed open the door to their, or rather _her_ , painfully empty room.

"Tea?" the brunette queried lightly as she stepped inside and set aside her bag, hearing the boys trudge in behind her.

She heard a noncommittal noise originate from somewhere behind her and set a pot to boil. She hadn't been looking for much of a response anyway.

"She's at Thalia's," Piper supplied as she turned towards Percy, looking him straight in the eye and stiffening as to not splinter under his intense gaze.

"C - can you give me the address?" the green-eyed boy managed, his body set in a way so unlike him.

"Yes," Piper nodded slowly, biting her lip as she tore a piece of paper from the notepad Annabeth insisted on keeping next to the sink no matter how often the parchment was ruin by an easy splash. "It's what she would have wanted."

She scribbled the address onto the sticky note, her neat handwriting vanishing in the heat of trembles racking her delicate figure. She held it out to her best friend's boyfriend, ex, acquaintance, she wasn't sure at this point, and it was what caused her to withhold it at the last minute.

"You're in no state to drive," she decided and pointed him to the bunk bed. "You can go after you've finished your tea."

Percy parted his lips, as if to argue, but didn't seem to have it in him and followed her instructions, taking a seat.

" _You_ ," Piper then said, pointing suddenly towards Luke, "need to leave… now."

"Why?" Luke demanded, his eyes darting across the brunette, considering her unfamiliar mannerisms.

"I know what you did," she informed him, her voice cold and quiet. "And I know you're here for forgiveness, but you won't get any from me, and I won't let you near Annabeth again after what you did to her."

"Did she tell you?" Luke asked, his Adam's apple bobbing in his throat.

"She didn't have to," Piper shot back. "I figured it out myself."

"What did you do?" Percy questioned, seemingly broken from his trance. When he received no reply from the blonde he turned to Piper. "What did he do?!"

"Would you like me to tell him?" Piper asked, her voice siding close to innocent, but with a cold underlying look that revoked all prior con.

"I - " Luke began but couldn't seem to get it out.

The pot behind them began to emit a soft whistling noise.

Apparently unable to disclose his doings, Piper decided to assist Luke. If Annabeth's secret had been forced to come out today, then his by no means deserved to remain hidden under a sheet of anonymity.

A slight whistling grew strong until it was unignorable.

"He was the one who roofied her," she supplied simply over the loud disturbance blossoming behind her back, feeling thoroughly accorded at the fire roaring in Percy's eyes at her admission.

Piper, feeling much unlike herself but much too deep in the dread to acknowledge it, took the kettle off the stove and set it aside before turning her attention back to the pair before her and reveling in the chaos that ensued.

* * *

a/n: drama, drama, drama

p.s. an anon asked if I'd ever write a non au story. Honestly, probably not. I just prefer to have more freedom when writing and it makes me slightly anxious having to go verify small details from the books after having read them so long ago.


	73. Chapter 73

a/n: beta love to cRawr

disclaimer: I do not own pjo

* * *

"How could you do that to her?" Percy demanded.

"Don't you think I feel bad enough as it is?" Luke yelled, holding his newly bloodied nose in his hands. "Knowing I played some part in her firing?"

"I don't - wait, what?" Percy's voice went deathly quiet as he registered the blonde's admission.

Luke similarly cringed at the realization, uttering only "I didn't say - " only to be cut off by Percy.

"Yes, you did!" the green eyed boy accused, his hands waving around dangerously close to Luke's face. "And unless you want me to break your nose for good, I recommend you start explaining _exactly_ what you meant by that."

"I just - I " Luke swallowed thickly, his eyes darting to Piper for help; a look she responded to with a roll of her eyes. "Can I sit down?"

"I suppose," Percy said through clenched teeth.

Luke nodded and took a seat on the bottom bunk, where Percy had been sitting earlier. "So what do you want to know?" he queried softly, his hands fidgeting in his lap.

"Everything," Percy snapped, not bothering to tone down the harshness of his voice.

"I love her," Luke supplied helplessly. "Well, loved, I guess I've realized now." He peeked up at Percy, gauging his reaction. "And I was convinced all I needed to do was fight for her and she'd come running back to me. Unfortunately, in the process of _fighting for her_ I crossed into some gray moral area and somehow ended up on the wrong side - "

"As much as both Percy and I appreciate your cryptic way of speaking, Luke," Piper cut in, sounding incredibly annoyed. "Could you please get to the point, I'd rather not analyse a soliloquy in order just to get the basic plot."

"Fine," Luke huffed, pausing as he reconsidered his telling. "I loved Annabeth and someone offered to help me get her back so I took her deal, not realizing what her ultimate goal was."

"Who?" Percy inquired, his eyes boring into the blonde.

"Lola Rolfs," Luke supplied. "She told me she liked you, and that you were just using Annabeth. So we plotted ways to break you up. One thing led to another and I roofied Annabeth."

Luke watched as Percy's hands clenched into tight fists next to his hips.

"You have to understand though," Luke protested. "I didn't know it was a roofie at the time. Lola told me it was something to make her easier to handle, pliable. I didn't know what that meant!"

Percy and Piper both scoffed loudly at the claim.

"I quit working with her after that night, after realizing the extent to which she'd go to get rid of Annabeth. I thought without me, Lola would stop trying altogether but I was wrong, and I never told Annabeth about Lola's plans. _That's_ why I feel partially culpable to the situation, why a ball of guilt is eating away at my insides as we speak."

A brief silence followed his admission. Percy stared blankly at the wall behind Luke while Piper bit her lip, peering at the cheaply carpeted floor.

"Well, shit," she said finally, shaking her head.

Percy could only agree with a meek nod.

* * *

Lola, who was carefully recounting the day's events in an email to her mother, was surprised when she heard a knock at her suite door. Contrary to the image she managed, she did not have many friends, and definitely did not have friends who were visiting her past ten o'clock; similarly, her maids all knew to just come in as the door was frequently unlocked.

So Lola, a slight frown of confusion painting her features, stood up and made her way to her door before opening it.

"Oh," Lola grinned at the sight of her newest prospect in the hall, but her good mood immediately diminished when she noted his somber expression. "Hey Percy."

"Lola," he grunted before invited himself in and then beginning to pace rapidly around her room.

"You found out then?" the bleach blonde questioned, biting her lip as she stared up at his moving figure, in question.

"Yes," Percy exhaled sharply. " _I found out_. Did you really think I wouldn't?"

"In my experience," Lola began, sitting back on her plush bed, "men aren't the most perceptive of creatures. I'm normally able to get just about anything by them with a hair flick and a strategic sway of my hips."

"Gods," Percy sighed, wondering whether the blonde had ever entertained _any_ positive role models in her life. "You can't just use your body to get what you want!"  
"I didn't use _only_ my body," Lola argued, her brows knitting together in frustration. "I also used my intelligence and my masterful manipulation."

"It's doesn't matter!" Percy shot back in a clipped tone. "You got rid of my girlfriend because you _liked_ me? Do you realize that I _love_ her? Do you realize you might have just compromised her living situation? You might have cost her money she could have used to pay for college tuition?"

"The way _I_ see it," Lola countered, her voice raising to meet his. "If you _really_ love her, then you can take care of all those financial troubles for her, can't you?"

"No," Percy said decidedly. "I actually cannot because she is so fiercely independent that it's annoying. She is refusing help from me, and from what I can tell she is insisting on paying her friend back whose apartment she is staying at as we speak."

"Why are you here then?" Lola questioned, sounding bored. "Simply to berate me?"

"What are you talking about?" Percy frowned.

"Why are you having this conversation with me?" Lola rephrased. "When you could be consoling your dear girlfriend?"

"Because I thought you and I were friends," Percy admitted, his voice falling soft again. "And it hurt to know that you had been plotting against my relationship from the beginning."

"Okay," Lola nodded, an apology prying at her lips, threatening to be set loose.

"I guess I'll go though," Percy shook his head and started towards the door. "Since you have no use for me here."

"I just thought we were better suited for each other," Lola whispered as he went. She followed tentatively as he exited her room and stopped in the hall, waiting for something, _anything_.

"Bye, Lola," he said finally and just as he turned it escaped.

"Sorry," she sighed, more a bundle of breath rather than a definitive statement.

He turned back towards her wearing a quizzical brow.

"I'm sorry for everything, Percy," she repeated. "I don't think we'll meet again in the future, but _if_ we do. I hope you'll have forgiven me."

"Well see," Percy replied with what he hoped was a reassuring smile. And with that pivoted on his heel and left.

* * *

Percy was halfway back to his room before he remembered he had absolutely no idea where Annabeth was. He presumed she was staying with Thalia, but she had never mentioned the address or even the area. All he knew was that she was in San Francisco. That put his odds at a little less than one in a million.

"Fuck," Percy hissed and turned sharply on his heel. He traveled back to Annabeth's room, all the while cursing himself for not asking Piper for the address earlier.

To his surprise, when he arrived to Annabeth's old room and articulated his request he was met with a glare.

"I'll give it to you," Piper informed him, but the lilt of her voice told him she wasn't finished. "But first you need to answer a few questions."

"Okay," Percy nodded, a bit put off by the demand. He had hoped to get to Annabeth as soon as possible.

"What happened with Lola?" Piper asked, sitting back against the bottom bunk as if they were having a polite conversation.

"Uh," Percy licked his lips, uncertain how to proceed. Was this some kind of test? "I asked her why she did it - "

"And Lola said?" Piper cut in, eyeing his expectantly, clearly not pleased with the speed at which he was going.

"She said it was because she liked me," Percy sighed, running his fingers through his messy hair. "And she wanted to take out any obstacles that might stand in her way."

"So it's your fault," Piper guffawed. She shook her head in a tired fashion, her brown hair ruffling at the front.

"No," Percy argued softly. "I can't control who is or isn't interested in me."

"You - " Piper bit her lip, deciding it was better to move on than test this subject. "Next question: where were you today?"  
"I was at work," Percy frowned.

"Annabeth called you a dozen times, and she wasn't able to get a hold of you," Piper told him bitterly. "You were supposed to be there for you and you _weren't_."

Her voice was quiet, but the words still pierced Percy like a cold dagger.

"What kind of boyfriend does that make you, huh?"

"The kind of boyfriend who is sorry and did all that he could to keep our relationship secret." Percy's voice began to raise as he became more and more frustrated with the line of questioning. "I payed off so many photographers, lied to so many friends, to _family_ , in order to respect her wishes. I did everything I could."

The room was silent after his outburst. It seemed neither of them had any words to remedy the situation.

"You didn't have to love her," Piper muttered in barely more than a whisper.

She glanced up at Percy with soft eyes. He had dark rings under his eyes, his hair was a mess and his hands were practically shaking.

"Yeah," Percy said with a sad smile. "Right."

* * *

Percy's already stiff fingers tightened around his car's steering wheel. He narrowed his dead tired eyes, attempting to navigate the complicated streets of San Francisco in the pitch dark. He had inadvertently added half an hour to the trip when he'd decided to turn off his phone, no longer able to stand the constant notifications from Grover in regard to the countless articles that had risen in the lowly hours of the night.

Before he knew it, Percy was standing at the doorstep of Thalia's apartment, his index finger hovering over the buzzer, his mind blank, all words of apology and sorrow eviscerated from his mind at the thought of losing the blonde.

Several minutes later, after practicing a few opening lines in his head, Percy breathed in deeply and pressed the buzzer to the apartment Piper had begrudgingly written down for him.

"Hello?" a grumpy voice only vaguely familiar to him echoed across the silent street.

"Um, hi," Percy replied awkwardly. "It's Percy. I need to see Annabeth."

"Why?" the voice half snarled half whined.

"I need to talk to her," Percy supplied sheepishly.

Silence followed his words, and he momentarily wondered if he'd said something wrong. Or worse, maybe Annabeth didn't want to see him -

"Fine," the voice said finally, snapping Percy away from his unpleasant musings. The buzzer blared loudly, causing the green eyed boy to jump slightly before reaching for the door and entering the building.

Percy took the stairs two by two, wanting to minimize the time spent apart. When he arrived at the front door of their apartment, however, he found himself hesitating once again. His breath was shallow, uneven, and his hands trembling where they lay, one beside his hip and the other just nearly knocking against the hard wood of the apartment door.

Before he got the chance to make a sound, the door swung open, and Annabeth appeared. Her face was puffy and her eyes were half shut. She was wearing a pair of pajama shorts and a t-shirt and her hair was in a messy bun atop her head.

It was clear he has woken her up. Percy's chest became significantly lighter at the sight, just grateful that she was okay.

He reached out and pulled her into his arms, encasing her in his familiar warmth. She didn't say anything, simply holding him to her, pleading with the universe to stop the moment, so she could live in it forever.

"I'm so glad you're okay," Percy sighed into her hair.

Her fingers curled into his rain covered sweatshirt, dragging a strangled breath from her lungs as she nodded.

"We should talk," he said finally.

Annabeth shook her head.

"Sleep," she stated at his confused glance. "Let's sleep first. We can talk tomorrow."

"Okay," he agreed but neither of them moved.

It must have been mere minutes, but it felt like hours that they held each other, their limbs intimately intertwined. Eventually, after an infinitesimal second, Percy shut the door behind him and they both paced slowly to Thalia's guestroom.

Percy entered and couldn't help but note how empty it appeared. There were no photographs or paintings adorning the walls, no colors other than beige. If Annabeth had been living here for over six months as she'd recounted to him, surely she would have decorated a bit.

He considered asking but thought better of it. He'd voice his query when the air cleared, when this fiasco ended and they were freely together at last.

Annabeth sat back on the bedspread and watched as her boyfriend began to shrug off his soaking sweatshirt. As she observed him, she was struck by a sudden pang, a painful feeling of utter hopelessness and immediately reached forward to assist him, realizing just how important these last moments were.

When Percy had been stripped down to his boxers, Annabeth climbed into bed. She wordlessly beckoned for him to follow as she tucked herself under the covers. He complied and wrapped his arms around her in a comforting display of warmth.

Annabeth turned towards him and pressed a long chaste kiss to his lips, finding sanctuary in his soft kiss. She shut her eyes tight, cursing the tears that threatened to betray her. She nuzzled her face into his neck, hoping he couldn't feel the hot tears staining her cheeks.

"Night," Percy bid her so softly it was felt rather than heard.

"I love you," Annabeth managed to choke out.

"I love you too," he breathed and tightened his grip around her.

Annabeth felt herself inhale again at his words. She took a deep breath and forced herself to forget the real world while in his arms. She sighed against his skin and allowed his familiar breaths to momentary remedy the earth shattering ache in her chest and lull her into an easy sleep.

* * *

a/n: it's a little short but there's only like one or two chapters to go before the epilogue.


	74. Chapter 74

Annabeth awoke to the familiar sounds of traffic outside and the light pitter patter of rain against the windows. She yawned and attempted to shift slightly only to realize there was a warm body behind her and an arm thrown over the curve of her hip. It was then, that the warmth and contentment she had begun to take for granted was extinguished from her soul, bathing her in a wash of icy despair.

The blonde attempted to calm her breathing, tried to stop her fingers from shaking, but it was no use. No matter what she did, her heart fluttered in fear, her limbs melted in apprehension, and her ribs threatened to collapse beneath the weight of her impending decision.

 _No_ , she amended, the decision was not impending, it had already been made. The difficulty would be putting it into words. The complication would come in trying to justify the verdict, with Percy and with herself.

Annabeth shut her eyes, allowing her heart to fall back into a blissful state of ignorance in Percy's arms.

The next time she woke up, she was cold in the bed, covered only in a fluffy comforter. She picked herself up, balancing on her elbows as she surveyed the room for her missing warmth. She found him easily, her fuzzy eyes adjusting to his sharp edges and angles. He was lingering in the corner of her bedroom, his phone to his ear and a frown on his face.

Annabeth watched him, her eyes drinking up what they could of his relaxed morning manner before it was too late, before time ran out. She had loved him most like this, his hair messy and moused, his movements loose and sleep dizzy, his features calm, untroubled.

Percy sighed loudly and hung up the phone, placing it on her table with an audible thump. He shook his head and raked his fingers through his hair before turning towards her. His eyes in that moment stifled any illusion of calm, of the perfect warm morning Annabeth had imagined them in.

"Sorry," he smiled sheepishly, pacing towards her rather stiffly. "Did I wake you?"

"No," Annabeth lied, for his benefit. She was rewarded with the one less crease of tension on his forehead.

"Good," he mumbled, bending down to press a morning kiss to her lips.

"Who was on the phone?" Annabeth inquired as she pulled back, stretching her arms above her head.

"The director of my movie," Percy supplied quietly. "He was angry with me for not showing up to the set this morning."

"Oh." Annabeth bit her lip, meeting his eyes and pretending not to see the questions dancing amongst the ocean blue.

"How are you?" Percy asked after a beat of awkward silence. "After the whole firing thing, I mean."

"I'm good," Annabeth nodded, her teeth digging into her bottom lip. "Well, not good exactly, I guess - I'm bad, but I'm sure I'll get better."

"I know it will," Percy assured her, taking her hand in his and rubbing soothing circles on her pulse point. "I - I need to apologize," he began, stumbling on his word, "for everything that happened."

"But you didn't - " Annabeth tried to cut in but he shook his head, signaling she remains quiet for now.

"I realized yesterday," he continued, "that I played a much more prominent role in the events leading up to your firing than I knew, and I wanted to apologize for it." He swallowed thickly, his breath catching halfway in his throat as he attempted to proceed. "I know that _you_ know that I never meant you any harm. I know you warned me that our relationship would get you fired but I never considered the implications of - "

"Percy," Annabeth shushed his rambling with a delicate smile. "It's okay. I forgive you, no matter what happened."

"I'm so sorry I didn't answer my phone," he burst out despite her assurance. "I left it on silent while I filmed and the scene went way over and - "

"Percy," Annabeth interrupted again. "All is forgiven, _everything_."

"Thank you," the dark-haired boy permitted, his lips curling around the words in a way that made her heart grow.

They sat there in silence, waiting for one of them to bring up the elephant in the room. Neither did, they only stared at each other, watching each other with an expression of utter adoration. She wondered if he knew, the decision she had made. She wondered if the look could otherwise be so sincere and profound.

"Should we talk about - " Percy said finally, breaking the quiet.

"No," Annabeth shook her head tensely. She stood up from the bed and pulled her lips into a smile as she turned to meet his gaze. "Let's make some breakfast first. You should never talk on an empty stomach."

She took him by the hand and dragged him into the kitchen before he could object.

* * *

"How did you sleep?" Annabeth asked, not quite meeting his eyes as she slid a plate to him. Her voice was unsurprisingly energetic. She was clearly trying to avoid the issue at hand.

"Fine," Percy allowed, watching her with a knowing expression. "Especially considering the day I had yesterday."

" _You_ had?" the blonde repeated, her throat constricting as incredulity slipped into her words.

"Yes, Annabeth," Percy sighed. "After you left without any warning, I spent the rest of the day combing through the mess you left behind, trying to figure out where you had gone and why."

"Oh." She bit her tongue, not having realized what trouble she may have left behind. _I should probably call Piper_ , Annabeth thought. _I need to assure you everything is fine. She has a tendency to worry_.

"And how did you sleep?" the green-eyed boy returned, picking at his eggs with a fork.

"Well," Annabeth smiled, finally meeting his eyes. "You were with me after all."

The comment made Percy grin, and she was endlessly grateful. He was surprisingly beautiful this way, simple and laid back. His hair wild and his gaze light. The sight made her heart expand in her chest and her mouth go dry.

"You make good eggs," Percy remarked loosely, his eyes significantly brighter now that his mood had warmed.

"Thank you," Annabeth replied, a sweet blissful morning spirit seeping into her head, allowing her to forget her troubles.

Percy watched her as she turned to make them coffee, the loose ragged t-shirt she considered pajamas swaying with her movements, slipping over the subtle curves of her. He lilted his head and fought a chuckle as the garment, in its enormity, fell over her shoulder, bearing her bare skin to the warm morning light.

He loved her. It was more clear than ever. In this moment as it had been in every other. He loved her.

He fucking loved her.

"Would you like a cup?" Annabeth queried, breaking him from his train of thought. She held up a mug and gestured to the pot of coffee that was almost ready.

"Sure," he managed despite his mouthful of food. "Thank you," he said after he had swallowed.

"Milk and sugar?" she questioned, turning her back to him once again to ready the beverages.

"Both," he responded, and it struck him that they had never done this before. Sure, they had spent the morning together, they had gorged on pancakes and laughed about movies. But they had never taken coffee together, the most normal couple interaction he could think of. It was something they had never done.

Hotel Escape had been just that, an escape. It had been an oasis away from the real world, a zoo in a jungle. But now that they to return to the real world, they would face new challenges, they would make new memories, they would have new experiences. And they would do it all together.

Percy couldn't help the smile that graced his lips at the thought.

"Do you mind if I call Piper really fast?" Annabeth asked and picked up her phone, dialing even before he answered as she knew perfectly well he would never deny her.

"Not at all."

"Thanks," the blonde acknowledged with a curve of her lips and lifted the phone to her ears. As she waited for it to ring she paced out of the kitchen, hoping for a bit of privacy.

Piper didn't answer so Annabeth left a message.

"Hey Piper," the blonde swallowed so audibly she was sure the device caught it. "I'm with Percy now. Everything is fine. Except it's kind of not. Or, at least it won't be. I don't know how everything got so royally fucked up, but call me back when you get this, okay? Bye."

As she hung up, Annabeth saw she had one unread text message. It was from Thalia. She clicked on it.

 **I'll be gone the whole day. So you two can fight or fuck or whatever you need to do _._**

The blonde smiled at her friend's blunt words. She had missed her roommate cutting words and sharp tone more than she thought she would over the summer. She returned slowly to the kitchen, drawing out the impending.

Once both steaming mugs of coffee were prepared, Annabeth sat down in the seat across from her boyfriend. She took a sip of the bitter liquid. It reminded her of school, of long nights and early mornings. She allowed her eyes to flutter shut as she swallowed, focusing only on the heat as it soothed her throat, as it gave her strength.

"So..." Percy started after finishing his last bite of breakfast. "Are you not hungry?"

"No," Annabeth said softly, her head shaking minutely.

"Okay," Percy nodded, sitting back resolutely. "We should talk then."

"Yes," the blonde answered simply, her hot drink still clutched securely between her palms.

"So you got fired," Percy began awkwardly. "I promised it wouldn't happen and it did."

"Yes," Annabeth agreed with a grimace. "I don't have a job anymore. Luckily I worked there long enough to deserve a decent severance package."

"That's good," Percy swallowed thickly. "A silver lining to a dark cloud."

"Indeed."

This was harder than she thought it would be. She couldn't find it in herself to tell him what she'd decided, to break the harsh news. All she could muster were one worded answers.

"Summer is almost over," Percy continued with a subtle lick of his lips. "School will start soon after."

"And - " Annabeth took a deep breath, gathering her strength for the conversation to come, "and that means you'll have to go back to New York, and I'll be here in SanFrancisco."

"Not necessarily," he cut in, his voice tragically optimistic. "I could go to school here, in California. I could finish - "

"No," Annabeth interrupted. She stared at him meaningfully, trying to explain how difficult this was with just a look. "Your mother needs you. Besides, I would never ask you to give up your friends and family for me - "

"You don't have to ask," Percy exclaimed. "I could just do it on my own and - "

"Percy," Annabeth stopped him. "I don't - I don't want you to stay."

Her boyfriend went silent. "You don't - " he mouthed, his words leaving him in mere breaths as he considered their meaning.

"It's not that I don't love you, I do, I really do." Annabeth felt hot tears well up in her eyes at the sight of Percy so dejected. "But you need to continue on with your life, without me. I don't want to be your regret. I don't want you to sacrifice your future for this, for _me_."

"But I would, Annabeth," Percy insisted, growing breathless, his eyes darting across her features. "I would give it all up in a second."

"But you shouldn't have to," the blonde pressed. "I don't _want_ you to."

Percy was once again speechless, simply peering at his girlfriend with a strangled look. She fought the urge to throw herself at him, to wrap her arms around him and soothe his worries, to run her fingers along the pout of his lips and smooth the wrinkle between his brows, to tell him she was lying, that it was all one big practical joke, that they could be together forever. But it wasn't the truth, and it would do nothing once they were forced to face the harsh reality outside this apartment.

"Percy," Annabeth attempted to convey her emotions. "You're famous. You're Percy Jackson. And I don't think I can handle being in the spotlight. That article already got me fired, another will get me expelled. What if I can't get into college? What if I can't - "

"Long distance - "

"We _tried_ long distance," Annabeth strained. "Don't you remember? Becuase I do. I remember how horrible it felt to have you so far away. I missed you so much, Percy. I missed you in my fucking bones. And that was only a few days. Imagine what an entire school year will do to me? I don't want to be a walking ghost - I - I've thought this over for a while and I think it would be better - "

She was surprised when her words were cut off with a kiss. It was soft, chaste, and loving. It was warm and tender and it made her resolve to crumble.

Annabeth lifted her arms and looped them around his neck, desperately scratching at his scalp as he pulled away. Her eyes fluttered open and through her wet lashes she saw his eyes, so blue and telling, filled to the brim with emotion and shining with tears.

The blonde swallowed back the urge to sob, to fall into his arms and beg for forgiveness, and pressed her lips to his. He deepened the kiss almost immediately, sliding his tongue deftly along the seam of her lips, tracing ever part of her when she allowed him entrance. His hands memorized the curves of her body, worshipping her in a manner that bordered on blasphemy.

Annabeth pulled away for only a second to grab him by the hand and drag him to her bedroom. There, she pushed him back onto the bed and was about to tug off his belt when his hoarse voice halted her movements.

"Don't," he protested. Her voice caught in her throat.

"I'm sorry." She clenched her jaw. "I shouldn't have - "

"No," Percy shook his head. She had misunderstood. "Don't go so fast," he told her. "Let's just - let's just take our time." _It'll be over too soon otherwise_.

"Okay," Annabeth agreed, biting her lip. She sat down next to Percy on the bed and shivered when he swept the hair off her shoulder to lavish it with kisses.

"Slow," he repeated, his fingers just barely kissing the seams of her t-shirt.

"Slow," she concurred. She let her hand cup his cheek, feeling the light boy-ish scruff beneath it, and brought his lips back to hers.

"So I can memorize you," Percy admitted breathlessly against her lips. His fingers ghosted over her bare stomach, maneuvering her back onto the bed.

"Memorize," Annabeth echoed faintly, feeling his cool tears mix with hers against their cheeks. She could taste salt on her tongue, on his, and did not wonder about its origin.

"So that I _never_ forget," Percy whispered, his lips burning a path along her jaw, down the column of her throat, across the ridges of her collarbone.

" _Never_ forget," Annabeth resounded, fighting the horror that spread across her body at the thought of ever forgetting this summer, of forgetting _him_.

She carefully followed his spine with the pads of her fingers, committing the curve to memory so that she might just sketch it later, allow him to come to life on paper, even if he was almost three thousand miles away.

Percy dragged her shirt over her head, flinging it to the side with the slightest of care. When he returned his eyes to her figure, he was awestruck. Gods, she was beautiful. He'd known, though. He'd always known.

"You're so beautiful," he said out loud and wondered how many more times he'd be able to say it before their time ran out. He wished he'd told her more. He wished he'd showered her with gifts, even if she'd hated it. He wished he'd spent every waking minute with her, savoring the little time they'd had, even if she'd grown annoyed with him. He had so many regrets. But none of them were her.

Annabeth nodded at his words. She longed to return to the sentiment but found herself unable to speak, choked by emotion.

"Kiss me," she managed. "Please."

He complied, leaning down to where she lay on her bed to capture her lips. His hands wove through her hair, delicately playing with the curls. Her hands moved in turn, over his belt buckle, making quick work of the device before remembering to slow down.

Annabeth felt Percy's thumb slip under the fabric of her panties and couldn't fight the moan that slipped from her lips at the sudden reminder of the molten heat sweltering between her legs. Percy kissed her fiercely, drinking in every last bit of her as his fingers brushed against her, eliciting yet another moan.

She gasped loudly when he finally entered her, when they finally became one. He rocked against her, holding her in his arms, pulling her as close to him as he possibly could.

"Percy," she heard fall from her lips before she had registered saying it.

"Annabeth," he breathed, less a reply and rather a word of reverence. He brushed her golden curls from her eyes in order to look at her. She was so used to finding herself uncomfortable and awkward under intense gazes, but Percy's did nothing of the sort. It spurred her on. It proved to her, as he bent his head to steal a kiss, that she was making the right decision in letting him go, in letting him live without her dragging him down.

"Percy," Annabeth repeated, tears springing to her eyes again as he brought her to her edge, that balloon of tension inside her blooming almost painfully. Until it burst, and she was left trembling in his arms, quaking in the core of her bliss.

"Look at me," Percy said, his voice soft and vulnerable, a question rather than a demand. "Please don't ever look away."

She met his eyes and almost fell apart once again at the naked passion and love embedded in his blue-green irises. Percy slipped a hand between her legs and with the other angled her face towards him, elongating the end of her orgasm as he gazed at her in dire veneration.

When he finally found his release, she did the same. She held him, watched him, admired the beauty of his loss of control, of his vulnerability. She felt her tears begin to flow again at the sight of him, so fucking beautiful above her, at the image of the man she so profoundly and ardently loved.

"It's over isn't it," Percy asked her an hour later, tracing shapes into the upturned the curve of her back.

 _Yes_ , Annabeth wanted to say but didn't have the heart. "Hold me," she requested. "Just hold me."

He reached over and pulled her into his arms, tucking her head beneath his chin. He would never deny her anything she asked.

It was almost five o'clock when Annabeth's phone rang. It was Piper. The blonde didn't answer the call, but it didn't matter. Their temporary oasis had cracked, their momentary peace breaking.

"I should go," Percy whispered but didn't move.

"Okay," Annabeth agreed but didn't make any effort to shift positions either.

So they lay there, their bodies melted into each other, tangled in the sheets like two halves that had finally found each other. But the soon the sky got dark, and they both knew it was time. There was no avoiding the inevitable.

"I'll miss you," Percy breathed, his voice barely audible over the air conditioning.

"Maybe I'll see you around," Annabeth tried to smile but couldn't manage the gesture. "In a merman movie, perhaps."

"I promised to take you to the premiere," Percy remembered, his eyes misting over.

"My friend has a big tv," Annabeth said quickly, trying to numb away the pain with a forced cheery expression. "It's almost the same as going to the theatre."

"I know we're breaking up but - " Percy swallowed, struggling with his words. "But I hope this isn't the last time I see you."

"I - "

"After all of this madness I'll find you, and we can have a proper courtship without secrets and paparazzi - "

"After," Annabeth agreed half heatedly, not truly believing his words but reveling in the thought nonetheless, in the slightest possibility of a future together, of a future with him.

"I love you," he said finally, stepping forward to capture her lips one last time, gorging on her taste. They held each other for a beat, nails claws at each other's skin like time fated lovers.

"I love you, too," Annabeth whispered against him, and he tasted the sentiment on the tip of his tongue before stepping back.

"Bye, Annabeth," he waved, his lips curving into a smile that didn't meet his eyes.

"Goodbye, Percy."

* * *

a/n: first of all, I obviously need to apologize for the longest wait of ever on this last chapter. I'm really really really sorry. I really have no good excuse I was just never quite in the Hotel Escape mood. Please don't kill me. I promise the next chapter will come soooooo much faster.

anyway, I hope this chapter was well enough written. There are still some parts I'd like to tweak tho. Regardless, this is the end. And yes, yes, I realize it isn't that end that ya'll wanted. but don't fret, there is still a lengthy lengthy epilogue to come which will - as not even subtly foreshadowed in his chapter - bring our fav pair back together.

(epilogue should probably be done within the week?) (probably, I got a few IAs to do first) (Funny Business will resume after the epilogue of this is published)

(Also, now that this is [complete], even if it isn't technically over, ya'll should check out some of my other fics if you haven't already because that would make me really really happy. I update those a lot more frequently. _Dumb Luck_ is a short college au and it's done. Funny Business is a workplace au and it still has a ways to go. Treason is a kind of half pirates half royalty au and it is farrrr from over (but its a bit darker than my other two))

hope y'all at least semi enjoyed this chapter even tho they broke up,

Ciao!


	75. Chapter 75

_One(ish) Year Later_

"Annabeth," her new roommate whined. "C'mon." She pulled the blonde by the sleeve of her sweatshirt. "We can do that later."

"But - " the blonde tried to protest but was cut off another imposing hum. "Fine," she agreed, setting down the newspaper covered mug in her hand.

"Yay!" the small dark-haired girl named Ellie squealed. "Let's go, let's go, let's go!" she repeated, jumping with excitement.

Annabeth grabbed her baseball cap and allowed her new friend to led her out the door.

By the time they reached the general courtyard, the pizza that had been promised was almost gone. The blonde gladly helped herself to a slice of pepperoni before walking along the row of tents, all advertising potential clubs.

"Look," Ellie hissed excitedly and pointed across the courtyard. "There's Olivia!" She ran over to her friend, all while dragging Annabeth behind her.

Ellie was a bit eccentric. She had to take melatonin to sleep properly and always seemed to have enough energy to power a city. But she was Annabeth's college roommate, and she was fun and exciting and outgoing and _different_.

Annabeth was grateful, even as she was pulled roughly behind the brunette, that they had so easily connected. It had made the transition that much easier.

"Lydia just told me there's some famous guy living on her floor," Olivia, Ellie's friend, whispered brightly as they joined the small group.

"Really?" Mia, another one of Ellie's friend's, inquired. "How does she know?"

"She says she doesn't recognize him but her roommate when crazy when she saw him - "

As Annabeth gazed around at all the people surrounding her in the courtyard she couldn't help but tune out the conversation. She finally had a chance for a fresh start, a _real_ chance. She had worked so hard for this opportunity. She had sacrificed so much. And while she was under no naive impression that the future would require no sacrifices, she was sure there was a brighter prospect ahead of her. She could feel it in her blood, in her bones, in her heart.

* * *

"Where are all the guys?" Ellie wondered out loud, slurring her words slightly.

"Some Columbia thing," Olivia shrugged as she handed Annabeth a generous glass of cheap beer.

"Oh," Ellie replied, taking a sip of her dark drink. "Bummer."

"Bummer," Annabeth agreed softly. She wandered away from her friends at the sight of her friend from econ 101 only to subsequently lose him. "Bummer," the blonde repeated to herself, feeling the cool heat of her beer slipping down her throat.

She trod carefully across the room to sit in an alcove by the window. She had barely been at NYU for two weeks, and she had already established a friend group and routine. Still, though, the sheer size of the freshman class never ceased to amaze her.

She watched the drunken college kids dancing around, bobbing slightly to the music. Tilting her head thoughtfully, she considered the exciting new world she was entering. She could see her friends in the corner of the living room, all laughing loudly with each other, whispering conspiratorially.

She loved them. Perhaps it was the alcohol talking but Gods, she fucking loved them.

"Annabeth," the blonde heard someone yell to her left. She turned and spotted one the guys who lived on her floor.

"Hey!" she replied loudly, waving from afar. She hopped off the ledge where she'd been sitting and sauntered over to them, smiling the whole way.

"What's up!" her friend screamed, struggling to be heard above the music.

Annabeth shrugged, knowing her voice would be much too quiet in the current atmosphere.

He grinned. His name was Allen. He was cute, she mused. He had shaggy blonde hair that curled around his ears and an endearingly crooked smile.

"Where are all your friends?" Annabeth questioned but he couldn't hear her. He bent down a bit, lowering his ear to her lips. "Why aren't you at the Columbia party?" the blonde rephrased, realizing she already knew the answer to the prior query.

"Becuase," he smiled wide. "I wanted to be here with you!"

Annabeth couldn't help but blush. It was stupid, it was cheesy, but it reminded her of easier times.

"So," he shouted over the blaring music, "have you heard? There's a movie star in our midst."

"Really?" Annabeth mouthed, hoping he could read her lips. He could.

"Yeah," Allen nodded fervently. It was clear the alcohol had gone to his head. "And I've heard he throws _amazing_ parties."

"Hm," Annabeth considered thoughtfully, her mind drifting to the twinkling colored lights above them.

"There's one next week," her friend continued. "I think it's on Saturday."

"Oh?" the blonde glanced up at him, quite enjoying the alcohol-induced lightness that was traveling through her veins, making her feel loose and free and horrible reckless and utterly limitless and -

"You should come," the boy yelled. "You can bring friends."

"I can't invite myself to a party," Annabeth said with a shake of her head, her mind fading in and out of the conversation.

"It's okay," Allen assured her. "He lets everyone in."

"Do you know his name?" Annabeth inquired, smiling incredulously.

"Uh, John?" he guessed, his eyes questioning and unsure.

"You don't know," the blonde rolled her eyes.

"You're right," he nodded reverently, taking a sip from his cup. "I don't, but that doesn't mean you can't come."

Annabeth threw her head back and laughed. It was really that funny, but there was something about the combination of cheap vodka, pizza, and espresso that left her unable to catch her breath, giggling wildly into the stuffy air

* * *

"Ellie," Annabeth whinged. "You should really bring your own bag."

"Why would I?" the petite brunette sniffed good-naturedly. "You are perfectly capable of carrying my possessions."

"Yes," the exasperated blonde agreed. "But that's not my point. The point is that _you_ are equally capable."

"I disagree," Ellie shook her head, an amused smile playing at her glossed lips. "If I were truly equally capable I would have brought a bag."

Annabeth groaned loudly, suppressing the urge to laugh hysterically in frustration.

"Is this it?" her roommate questioned as their uber reached the location. "Hm, I guess I just thought it would be bigger, _a lot_ bigger if I'm being honest."

The blonde sighed as reached for the car door and exited the car.

"Ellie," Annabeth began with a telling inhale, "can we please not have - "

She was speechless, completely and utterly awestruck. It was beautiful, really truly beautiful. The house was painted a light blue and its ornamentation was clearly reminiscent of the art deco movement. The intricacy of the work was absolutely marvelous, utterly fascinating.

"C'mon," Ellie said excitedly, looking up from her phone and breaking the blonde from her musings. "Allie is already inside."

"Okay," Annabeth agreed softly, the stunning exterior of the house renewing a flicker of excitement.

It was all a blur after that, a magnificent, wondrous blur of newfound elation and enthusiasm. The blonde could barely contain herself from spewing off facts as her friends dragged her around corners, through crowds of people, all the to rhythm of the music.

It was the perfect music. So soft, so familiar, nostalgic in a way. Perhaps it should have clued her as to what was to come, but instead, it did quite the opposite, lulling her into a comfortable state of ignorant bliss.

The entire night was a soft memory, punctuated by small warm moments of little significance.

Punctuated by Ellie's voice - _C'mon Annabeth!_ \- by Allie's soft murmurings - _I had always wondered if plants could hold memories_ \- by Jame's boisterous calling - _Are you girl's ready to par-tay?_ \- by Shalom's conspiratorial tones - _did you hear -_

The night had gone by in a blur of alcohol and adrenaline and amusement until she saw him, until she saw -

"Percy?"

* * *

"So," Zach asked, a sly smile creeping across his lips as he nudged the dark haired boy playfully. "What happened with the redhead yesterday?"

"Nothing," Percy shrugged loosely, reaching for a sip of his iced tea. "We talked a bit, but then we parted ways."

"You're a nice guy, Percy," his friend clapped him on the back. "You'll find someone you connect with eventually."

"Yeah, yeah," the green-eyed boy grinned, pushing Zach off of him. "C'mon," he stated decidedly, picking up his plate and moving towards the kitchen rack, "let's get ready for tonight."

"What are you thinking theme-wise?" his friend inquired, judging his own question thoughtfully, his lips pursed.

"Hadn't considered it," Percy lied.

* * *

It was probably a lost cause, he knew.

He was perfectly aware that the chances of her enrolling in NYU and attending his party were close to astronomical. Still, though, his heart held onto a sliver of hope, a dull ache whenever he thought of her, a spark of adrenaline when he imagined a future together.

"Where should we put the keg?" Jake came running into the room and asked.

Percy smiled at the sight of his new friends, so excited at the prospect of a proper house party.

"Downstairs in the kitchen," Percy instructed.

"Okay," the blonde agreed and took off down the stairs to attend to the issue at hand.

Percy wanted everything to be perfect, just in case - _just in_ case _-_ she showed up tonight.

The dark haired boy sighed and followed his friend downstairs.

"Here," he offered, eyeing the difficulty his roommates were having. "Let me help."

Together, the two boys lifted the keg and carried it to the small kitchen. They placed it roughly on the counter and continued to work on the rest of the ambiance.

Percy was lucky, he knew, to have friends that were so easily dedicated to his desires. He wondered if it had something to do with his background, something to do with his fame. He'd worked so hard, so _very_ hard to rid himself of his ties to the cinematic world. Sure, he still had friends in production and _that_ world, but he had separated himself from them. He had decided then, _that day_ , that it was time to go through with his plans.

Acting was never supposed to be his life. He had wished to do something more significant, something monumental. Acting had been a means to an end, never the final destination.

He had realized, _she_ had made him realize, that the life he was living was not the life he wanted. He didn't want to live in secrecy, constantly hiding from paparazzi and sacrificing meaningful relationships for the sake of publicity.

* * *

It was quite Gastby-esque, he considered inwardly as he leaned against the banister of the stairway, watching the front door with careful eyes.

She had loved the book. She had called it one of her favorites, named it one of the greatest pieces of American literature, had insisted that he read it. And he did, of course, but only after it was too late.

He wondered if she'd appreciate his gesture. Would she be reminded of Fitzgerald's novel as he had? Would she think it romantic, or rather an attempt at shallow affection, a show rather than a real inclination?

He wondered and considered and contemplated before suddenly hitting himself, reprimanding his own mind for fabricating such hopeful thoughts. She probably wouldn't even come. Chances were she wouldn't come.

But she might, she just might. And he wanted her to, with every piece of his being, he wanted her to.

"Percy - " The boy hesitated at his friend's voice. It wasn't that he didn't want to help, he just worried he might miss her, that she might stride through the front door, her golden curls bouncing and her rosy lips curled slightly upwards and that he might miss his chance. " - we need more soda and the rest is in your car - "

"My keys are in my jacket which is somewhere around here just go ahead and - " he said, his eyes glued to the door. But then, after the umpteenth time his breath hitched at the sight of the door opening and his heart was plunged in dread at the realization it wasn't who he'd hoped, it was _her_ , he sighed in resignation. "Actually," he fixed, casting a kind gaze towards his already wasted friend, "let me get it."

"Thanks, Percy," his friend grinned, all toothy and crooked. "You're the best man."

The green-eyed boy only smiled in return. He might not have had he known that, by some great stroke of cynical timing, the very second he turned towards the back door, the very girl he had been waiting all night for, all day for, all _year_ for strolled into his party.

* * *

a/n: so obviously this is short. I cut off the epilogue bc it isn't done, and I feel like I haven't updated this in soooo long after explicitly promising not to do that. Anyway, expect the next chapter out soon. It'll be a continuation of this epilogue.

haven't proofread so forgive me but grammarly will have to do.


	76. Chapter 76

"Percy?"

He turned slightly, his eyes widening at the sound of his name, at the sound of _that_ voice.

And there she was, flushed and surprised, her gray eyes shining almost inhumanely to where he wondered for a split second whether she might be a figment of his imagination.

"Percy?" she repeated, as though she couldn't believe it herself.

She was tan, no doubt from the summer sun. It had been a year since they'd parted, but he could still make out the small streak of gray in her golden locks. He could still trace the curve of her lips in his sleep, perfectly draw the slope of her nose from memory, could picture her stunning eyes for nights on end. He had tried—had desperately _wished_ to forget her but found himself unable to.

He had been completely and utterly enchanted by the sway fo her hips when she walked, by her delicate giggle that melted into boisterous laughter, by her ability to glare at him one minute, then smile the next, by her tenacity and determination, by her fucking _presence_ , by _her_.

"Annabeth," he breathed. The words were lost in the crowd, but he watched recognition flit across her features and lips curve slightly at the corners. He knew, _knew_ , that she had read his lips, but it really, truly felt like she had read his mind—he found he didn't particularly mind delusion so he clung to it—momentarily, anyway, just in case she decided to reject him.

She took a tentative step towards him, something akin to confusion flickering in her eyes.

Annabeth had not seen him, not seen that face, not heard that voice since last January. When she had returned from school to find a package on her doorstep. Since the day she had cautiously regarded the strange box before carrying it into her apartment.

Once inside, Annabeth had placed the package on her kitchen counter and simply stared. She was not used to receiving packages. She had no far-reaching friends and did not trust online shopping. She tentatively ran her slender fingers over the corners of the box, her nail pulling at the tape holding it together.

Then she saw it, and she swore—fucking _swore_ —her heart stopped.

It was postmarked in New York.

Could it be—no, surely not, he wouldn't—except he would, and he did.

She reached with trembling hands into the kitchen drawer and withdrew a knife. As delicately as she could, she used to the blade to tear at the seams of the container.

It was small, not tiny, but small nonetheless. She wondered what it could be, what it _would_ be.

As the final piece of tape holding it together came undone, the box fell open loosely. Annabeth swallowed thickly and fought to dislodge her breath from where it was caught in the back of her throat. She could only see packing peanuts—an absurd amount of packing peanuts.

The blonde hastily placed the knife back in the drawer before staring nervously at the mysterious contents of the shipment. With her bottom lip caught between her teeth, Annabeth carefully reached into the mountain of white foam and rummaged around until her fingers curled around a rounded corner.

She inhaled sharply, desperately seeking air as she pulled the mysterious object from its container. It was a rectangle and blue and thin and—a movie?

Annabeth anxiously turned over the blue ray DVD and examined the cover. It displayed Percy's shirtless torso, the lower half of him obscured by a mermaid's tale, around him were two women, comically posed.

The image was hilarious. It was just as she'd imagined. It was perfect. It was—well, it was Percy. It was expectedly gutwrenching and the easy smile on his face brought melancholy memories to light.

The blonde tried to watch it that night, she really did, but she barely made it past the credits. The moment she saw him, heard his voice—that smooth fucking voice—there was an overabundance of silent tears streaming down her cheeks, catching on the edge of her jaw.

"Dad," he'd remarked softly, his stupid tale glimmering in the CGI water, "do you think they know we're down here—"

Her hand shot out for the remote and not a moment too soon, she had turned off the movie.

He'd spoken less than ten words before she'd become unable to bear it, willing to go to unimaginable lengths to extinguish the distress beginning to overwhelm her.

Annabeth then delicately removed the DVD from the player and placed it back in its container. She went to place it back in the box it had arrived in when she noticed a small slip of paper she had apparently overlooked in her desperation earlier.

 _Annabeth_ , it said, and the one word—that _one_ word—expelled the breath from her lungs.

 _I know you probably don't want to hear from me, but I promised to take you to the_ _premier_ —Annabeth swallowed harshly at that memory, of that hot summer day that seemed simultaneously so close yet so far away.

 _And this seemed like the next best thing,_

 _Yours, Percy_.

Not just Percy, no, never just Percy, no no _no_ — _yours_.

 _Hers_.

Annabeth carelessly threw the movie back into the box. She pulled it into her arms and carried it to her room where she shoved it under her bed, hoping to attend to it later. She laid in bed that day and didn't get back up until her stomach growled so loud it was impossible to ignore. But then, when she stood up and began to head into her kitchen, she caught sight of herself in the floor length mirror on the back of bedroom door.

There, on her chest, right over her heart, were Percy's words, his unique script, reverently transcribed onto her skin from how tightly she'd held onto them.

Annabeth sucked in a ragged breath, wiping frantically at her chest before stalking away from her reflection, choosing not to dwell on the seeming symbolic implications of the occurrence.

That was the last time she'd seen his face, the last time she'd heard his voice. She had never revisited the box, figuring it would bring her distress rather than the closure she sought for so long.

It was jarring to see him, especially like this. He was relaxed, seemingly in his element. His eyes were bright, his lips pulled into a disbelieving smile. Annabeth could only assume she was wearing the same expression.

She was.

"Annabeth," Percy breathed. It was less a question and more a strangled realization.

"How?' Annabeth asked, stepping towards him with her arms outstretched, wanting to feel him, to touch him, to make sure he wasn't some alcohol addled dream.

"I—I applied in the fall," he spilled, moving clumsily towards her. "Got accepted on a swimming scholarship—put down my deposit—registered—"

"No," Annabeth shook her head, unable to stop the nervous bubble of laughter that emptied from her lips at his rambling. "No, not how did you get in, how are you here?"

"It's my party. I—" he swallowed, his pink dipping out to moisten his lips. He was mesmerized for a second, by that laugh— _her_ laugh. "I threw it for you."

"How did—" the blonde started, before catching sight of rapid movement through her peripheral vision. The room suddenly widened, and, while she was no longer focused solely on Percy; she noticed they had begun to draw a crowd. "Can we—uh—go somewhere private?" Annabeth requested suddenly, turning to glance up at him with a pleading look.

"Okay," Percy agreed, his blue-green eyes—the ones she had worried she would never see again—glued to hers as his fingers threaded through hers.

Annabeth could hardly contain her sharp intake of breath at his action but blamed the spike of her heartbeat on the movement the followed. Before she could say another word, he was whisking her through the crowd of people and up the stairs. He led to her a cozy bedroom decorated with green trimming.

Percy silently let go of her hand and took a seat on the bed, knotting his hands in his lap. He looked nervous—worried even—as he twitched unevenly in his place.

"So," he began after a minute of awkward, jolted tension. "How has school been for you?"

"Good," Annabeth replied, clearly bemused with the line of questioning. "I mean—wait, no—what the _fuck,_ Percy?"

"Uh—" Percy said plainly and licked his lips. "Same? It's been good for me too—"

"No," Annabeth shook her head wildly, her curls falling into her eyes, splaying across her forehead. "What the fuck is happening? How are you here? I thought I would never see you again. I don't understand—"

"Well, then let me explain," Percy requested, putting an end to her nervous scattered thoughts.

"Okay," Annabeth nodded, swallowing an _I missed you_ and strangling the _I love you_ caught dangerous close to her larynx.

"After I left your apartment," the green-eyed boy began, "I wanted to respect your wishes and leave you alone, so I finished my movie and tried to go back to my normal life." He frowned at that, his brows furrowing and his eyes darting to his hands in his lap. "I tried and I tried to resume my life in LA, but I realized something. After several weeks of feeling unusually empty, I realized not only did I miss _you_ , but I missed the genuine connection. I missed knowing someone liked me—someone _loved_ me—for _me_ , not for my success or my money."

Annabeth couldn't help but gasp at his use of the _love_ , the word that had been fluttering through her head all summer, flickering just out of reach since he'd left.

"And I realized, that if my career was going to be a deterrent of intimate and genuine friendship, if it was going to keep me away from people like you, and Tyson, and my mother then it's not worth it. From that day forward, I set out to be a normal teenager. I wanted to try it out again, to see if I could go back."

The blonde wetted her lips nervously, suddenly guilty that Percy's feelings towards her might have led him to quit acting, to put his career on hold, the very thing she had refused to do, the line she had refused to cross for him.

"I finished my last year of high school and desperately held onto the notion that we might meet again, that someday, in some world, we would find each other and hold onto what we used to have—I knew, even then, that it was a positively idiotic idea, but I couldn't help but hope."

 _What we used to have_ , the words echoed through Annabeth's brain. Did that mean what she thought it did? Why had it been in the past tense? Did he—did he not—

She couldn't— _wouldn't_ —finish the thought.

"Anyway," he shook his head, chuckling to himself. Annabeth might have laughed with him had she not absolutely captivated by the natural curve of his lips, by the sway of his hair, by the way he had aged over the last year. "I heard about this blonde girl with a scary high IQ and thought maybe—just _maybe_ —that might be you. So I threw a party," he grinned, wringing his hands in his lap, "then I threw another—and another and another."

"How Gatsby-esque of you," Annabeth giggled, forcing herself to meet his piercing eyes.

"Gatsby didn't get the girl," Percy noted, his brow taking a wry arch.

"He didn't," she agreed, unable to hide the smile slipping across her lips at the reference. She summoned her courage—and the two shots of vodka running through her system—and said, "but you might."

His eyes widened, his mouth tilting into a lopsided grin that was suddenly both gutwrenching and exciting.

"How have you been?" Percy asked her, in an attempt to be casual.

"Good—great, even," Annabeth laughed, her lips permanently pulled up. "Did you end up choosing to study Marine Biology?"

"Yes," Percy nodded. He took her hand in his, his tender touch sparking an uncontrollable nostalgia within the blonde. "Do you—do you think we could talk about us?" he ventured, his beautiful blue-green eyes vulnerable and questioning.

"Okay," Annabeth agreed, unconsciously licking her lips.

"I know it's been a year—more than a year actually—but I still feel the same way," Percy's eyes flickered to hers, his gaze questioning. "So if—if you—um—reciprocate those feelings, then maybe we could pick up where we left of?"

Annabeth considered his words, allowing warm memories of sun and ocean and saltwater to ensnare her senses. She had cried over him for days—weeks—months—until the memories had turned bittersweet, before long they were just bitter, leaving a dark taste in her mouth. Despite the grief, Percy had caused her, however, her heart could help but ache at the prospect of going back to those simpler days. She wanted that—simple sunny days of chaste kisses and fluttering butterflies—but—

 _No_ , she wasn't like that anymore. A year could do a lot to a person and it had. Her year had changed her, caused her to realize what she wanted and forced her to come to terms with what she was willing to sacrifice in order to achieve it. She was different. He was different.

 _They_ were different.

Annabeth parted her lips, carefully slipping the flat of her tongue over her teeth as she mulled over her thoughts.

"I don't know that that's the best idea," she finally revealed in barely less than a whisper.

She chanced a glance in his direction and the second she saw his expression, she regretted her actions. She could barely face the sadness reflected in his eyes. The deep blue looked so similar to the color from that last rainy day in the summer.

"You don't feel the same," Percy nodded. "I should have realized." He was threading his fingers aggressively. "I shouldn't have expected you to wait around for me—"

"No, no," Annabeth jumped in, wanting to spare him any additional anguish. "It's not that. I do feel the same."

"Then why—"

"Well," the blonde swallowed thickly, trying to explain. "I still feel the same about you, but you're not the same person I met last summer."

He frowned at her declaration, furrowing his brows together in that adorable expression she missed so much.

"And, just the same, I'm not the same person you fell in love." Annabeth bit her lip, trying not to mess this up— _Gods_ , she hoped she wasn't messing this up. "So I propose we start fresh—well," she considered her words for a second. "Maybe only semi-fresh."

"What do you mean?" Percy asked, trying to soften the loud thumping of his heart at the sign of hope in her eyes.

"I mean we should go on a date," Annabeth expounded with a shy smile, a soft blush touching her sun-kissed skin. "And hopefully we'll have a good time, but there shouldn't be any pressure to fall in love instantly. We should try to get to know each other as—the new people we are rather than the people we used to be. If we don't do that, we'll both be entering a relationship with unrealistic expectations. We'll be setting ourselves up for failure," she finished with a shrug.

"Okay," Percy agreed slowly. "I guess there's no harm in getting to know you again, even though I'm pretty sure I would love any incarnation of you."

"Don't build me up like that," she smiled. "We'll see if you really feel like after our first date."

"I'll feel like that after the first minute," Percy assured her smoothly, his charming smile gliding effortlessly onto his face.

"Percy," Annabeth sighed as she shoved him, a serious undertone accompanying her playful movement.

"Okay, okay," Percy laughed. "I promise to reserve all judgments until after our first date."

"Okay," Annabeth smiled, unsure what else to say. Before they knew it, they were enveloped in a familiar silence—except it was far from silent, there were people screaming downstairs, a faint chant appearing to linger in the air—in the room, however, it was only the two of them. And as Annabeth stared into Percy's eyes, she knew, it didn't matter if he'd changed or if she'd changed, in the end, it would _always_ be him, it would always be her.

It would always be _them_.

* * *

"So," Percy trailed off, his brows lifting suggestively as they reached her dorm room. "Third date. You know what that means, right?"

"Oh please, Percy," Annabeth rolled her eyes, reaching into her bag for her key. "As if I was waiting for some arbitrary, societally imposed deadline to have sex with you."

He chuckled. The sound was rich and it reverberated throughout his body. Percy missed it. He missed laughing so naturally and easily around another person, around _his_ person.

"Besides," she found the key and pushed him aside to unlock her door, her eyes glued to him as she did. "It's not as if I haven't already seen all of you."

"That's not what I meant," Percy muttered mysteriously.

"What?" Annabeth questioned, her brows coming together to form a worried expression just as she managed to turn the knob of the door.

"Just wait," Percy smiled.

The blonde was confused but mostly suspiciously because her new friend, almost boyfriend, and definitely love had grown to love pranks over the past year, and, unfortunately, she had become the victim of too many of them.

"Percy—" Annabeth began steadily as she swung the door open. The air left her lungs at what she saw. Her entire room was covered in sticky notes.

She stormed into the center of the small room and was in the midst of contemplating which excruciating form of death she should subject Percy to when she spotted something else. The small paper squares all came together to form a heart. She hadn't seen it before, but once Percy had turned on the lights it had become clear.

Percy closed the door behind her. Annabeth heard the door slam but couldn't find it in herself to care as she further examined the paper slips. They were covered in writing. Annabeth narrowed her eyes to decipher the scribbled words when—

"I love you."

She whipped around, barely able to stand on her two feet as the confession washed over her. The words were like syrup and sweetness, like bubbles and bliss.

"W—what is all this?" Annabeth stuttered, trying to work through the situation in her head. She knew she was ignoring his heartfelt words, but she needed a moment to work through her own reaction before she could reply. Deep down she already knew what she was going to say, she figured she always knew, since the first time he'd taken her by the waist and helped her through an embarrassing dance, or—

No, perhaps it was when he'd answered the phone when no one else had. Perhaps it was that shattering moment, in his car when he'd pushed her off of him and told her the truth. That moment when he had managed to see through her walls and understand her, the _true_ her. But, no—

It was the first time she'd ever seen him, ever shared a word with him. It was the moment in the VIP section when he had been just a guy, and she had been just a girl. When the tables were cleared and the playing feel seemingly leveled. It was the soft calming color of his eyes and the curve of his mischevious smile.

"I wrote on all of the sticky notes," he explained. "They all represent something I love about you."

"Oh," Annabeth said dumbly, her mind whirring at a speed she could no longer comprehend or control. "You—you love me."

"Yeah," Percy chuckled. "I always did, really."

"Oh," the blonde repeated, seemingly unable to close her mouth as she circled the room, carefully tracing the sticky notes—no, not sticky notes: _lo_ _ve_ notes—with the tips of her fingers. Her eyes quickly flicked over the shorter ones, divulging in the intimacy of the moment.

 _... your eyes..._

 _... your kindness..._

 _... your bad bitch-ness..._

 _... your midnight texts..._

 _... your quips..._

Then she lingered for an extra second on the longer ones, the ones that seemed to somehow embody the hundreds of lovely little moments they had shared.

 _... the way you reach for me at night, your arms seeking me out like a sunflower twisting towards the sun..._

 _... your scary stories, the last of which managed to give me nightmares for at least week..._

 _... the way you make me smile at just the sight of you..._

 _... the way a tiny quirk of_ your _lips can make me want to burn down the world just to make you smile..._

 _... you you_ you _..._

"I fucking _love_ you, Annabeth Chase," Percy announced suddenly, letting the adoration laced words slip off the tip of his tongue. "I would be the luckiest guy on the _planet_ if you—wait," he stopped.

"What?" Annabeth asked, breathless, her fingers twitching before her. She watched him reach into his pocket and remove a small velvet box. He dropped to one knee. He was on one knee. He was on one knee. He was on _one knee_. He was going to—she wasn't ready. A boyfriend, yes. The love of her life, yes. But marriage, a family, no no no. She was in college. She had some much she wanted to accomplish.

She wasn't ready. He _knew_ she wasn't ready.

"Will you do me the honor of being my girlfriend?" Percy queried, opening the box to reveal a purple ring pop.

Annabeth's mouth slid open.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" she asked, her lips pursed together dangerously.

"I'm sorry," Percy laughed loudly, throwing his head back. The sound rang in her ears, relaxing her muscles, forcing her to smile despite herself. "I couldn't resist seeing your face."

"That was a dick move." Annabeth crossed her arms over her chest.

"I know," he assured her, standing up to plant a chaste kiss on her cheek and take her in his arms. "I know we're too young and that it's too big of a step for us, but I really do love you."

"I love you, too," Annabeth whispered into his chest, allowing the hushed confession to envelop them both in a new light.

"Then be my girlfriend," Percy proposed, leaning back to meet her eyes.

"Okay," the blonde agreed, reaching up to curl her hands around his stubbled cheeks. "As long as you agree to be my boyfriend as well."

"I assumed it was implied," he breathed, his lips ghosting over her, sparks of old fireworks lighting up.

"I still want to hear you say it," Annabeth husked with a smile. "For equality's sake and all."

"Of course, I'll be your boyfriend," Percy grinned, his lips stretching wide. "I love you, after all."

"My roommate is gonna be pissed when she gets back," Annabeth warned, but she couldn't help but smile at the goofy curve of Percy's lips.

His eyes were glazed, no doubt dazed with love. She wondered if she looked the same.

"I love you," he replied simply.

"But I don't think I care," the blonde beamed.

"And you love me," Percy finished, the words that had for so long seemed forbidden and dangerous to Annabeth sliding warmly against her lips.

"I've been waiting for this moment almost a year a half," Annabeth admitted, her soft gray irises flicking up to meet Percy's sea green ones.

"Me too," he conceded, leaning down to capture her mouth with his.

* * *

a/n: welp, this is the end. It's so strange. I started this story my sophomore year of high school and god, sometimes I go back and read some of those initial chapters and they're literal shit (I will definitely be editing this whole story in the future). But still, I love this story because it's my firstborn. I have gotten so much support for this story and I thank each and every single one of you who stuck with me even though I kind of sucked at updating; I would update in rapid mode for like a month or two and then just go MIA, like I did for the last month.

Anyway, thank you, everyone who followed, favorited, and/or reviewed this story. Your support has meant everything to me. It's crazy that this is over. The ending has always been on the horizon for me, and now that it's here, I can't believe it. Hope you guys enjoyed the ending. I didn't want them to get married or anything bc I've read stories like that, and I think it's 1. dumb to get married so young and 2. unrealistic. I hope Percy's actions at the end weren't too fluffy.

If you guys liked my writing, I have a few other stories in the making. _Dumb Luck_ is completed but it's a short, light-hearted college AU. I know I probably shouldn't plug my own writing, but I would recommend. It's one of my favorites. _Treason_ is a pirate/princess AU and it's a wip. I am supposed to update weekly but... well, I try. _Funny Business_ is a workplace AU. I'm about halfway done, and I know I haven't updated since November but I'm going to continue writing that now that this story is done.

Thank you all for going on this roller coaster ride of percabeth and angst and cringy lemons and romance. I loved every second of it and I hope y'all did as well, or at least 95% of it.

Well, guess this is the end. It's been a crazy couple of years yall

Ciao


End file.
